R. Rudra Narasimham, B.Sc., M.B.B.S.,
Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A.
Organization: Special Frontier Force-Establishment No. 22-Vikas Regiment
OCTOBER 31, 1984. PRIME MINISTER INDIRA GANDHI – A FLAME THAT GOT EXTINGUISHED
From ‘Rudi’ to Rudolf of Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan: The Verification of the Dialectical Theory of Religion
Rudi is my nickname. I studied Natural Sciences. I was introduced to the name Rudolf Ludwig Carl Virchow while I studied Human Pathology.
Dr. Virchow is known as the Pope of Medicine. Cellular Pathology (1858), regarded as the root of modern pathology, introduced the third dictum in cell theory: Omnis cellula e cellula (“All cells come from cells”). I refer to Dr. Rudolf Virchow’s Cell Theory in my analysis of man, society, and religion.
The story of Professor Rudolf of Western Michigan University is of interest to me as it relates to a person named Rudolf of German descent. But, I do respect his age.
I want to give my attention to Western Michigan University (WMU). Does this School believe in the principles of academic freedom and academic integrity at places of higher learning? My concern directly relates to their teaching of the subject called ‘Comparative Religion’. What is the WMU trying to compare? It appears that the University is indulging in comparing human thoughts described as “Religion” without any concern about the Unchanging, Everlasting, Eternal Truth or Reality called God.
I directly ask the WMU to reject the redundant idea of comparing religions as the same God is existing now as in the past when planet Earth had no living species identified as Homo sapiens. sapiens. To begin with, Earth had no religion and human thoughts about God are of only recent origin. Without knowing God who exists irrespective of the presence or absence of human thought, how could we postulate about the future of society, and the future of religion?
Professor Rudolf’s hypothesis for the future of society and the future of religion needs basic verification. His predictions apparently have not considered the fact of man’s creation as a rational being. The social/political/religious conflicts recorded in human history simply reveal that the man is alienated, separated, or even ignorant of his true or real nature. How can there be any tensions or conflicts between religions if the man has a rational experience of true God, the Reality that never changes, the Reality that is never influenced by time or place?
The Theory of Man:
I would be happy if Professor Rudolf Siebert joins this conversation to briefly explain his ‘Theory of Peace’.
Firstly, I have to ascertain his theory of man. I appreciate his interest in comparative religions. Most religions, unfortunately, deal with the Theory of God without properly accounting for the entity who is concerned about God.
I am not opposed to the Biblical preaching, the story of the man and woman described in the Book of Genesis. So, we have a man and a woman.
Now, I ask Dr. Rudolf Siebert, his colleagues, his students, to tell me the rest of the story about the man who desires to find peace in his living condition and living experience. How can there be an experience called peace without knowing the man?
Professor Rudolf Siebert’s ‘Dialectical Theory of Religion’ proposes three global alternative futures of human society. His second alternative Future, the entirely militarized society, is a product of his creative imagination without any correspondence to the present-day reality called Military Service. I ask Rudolf to describe the name of the country to which his imagined militarized society may belong. The military is a very sophisticated professional service and the professional soldier is unwilling and is unprepared to manage the affairs of the society in which he may live.
For example, the problem of civilian unrest in Hong Kong cannot be managed by professional military service. The military does not believe in the use of tactics used by the Police Service to manage civilian unrest or street protests. A professional soldier does not use a baton, teargas, water cannon, taser gun, or rubber bullets. Do you want the professional soldier to abandon his training to embrace the role of the policeman?
Professor Siebert’s main works are The Critical Theory of Religion: Frankfurt School, and From Critical Theory to Critical Political Theology: Personal Autonomy and Universal Solidarity. From 1955 to the present, Professor Siebert has developed the critical or dialectical theory of religion out of the critical theory of society, from the endeavors of the Institute for Social Research at the University of Frankfurt, globally known as the “Frankfurt School,” and in continual discourse with sociologists, psychologists, anthropologists, economists, philosophers, religionists, and theologians from the United States, Canada, England, Belgium, Holland, France, Germany, Yugoslavia / Croatia, Israel, and Columbia. The dialectical theory of religion emphasizes the three global alternative futures of society: Future I – the totally administered society; Future II – the entirely militarized society; and Future III – the reconciled society. It stresses the three global alternative futures of religion: Future I – religious fundamentalism; Future II – total secularization; Future III – the open dialectic between the religious and the secular aiming at a post-modern reconciliation between a reformed religion and transformed secular enlightenment.
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MY MARGINALIZED EXISTENCE IN EXILE
LIVING TIBETAN SPIRITS. MY MARGINALIZED EXISTENCE IN EXILE
Living Tibetan Spirits who inhabit my consciousness know the experience of my marginalized existence in exile.
I am alive without Freedom or Free Will to choose. I can narrate my story either as a Blessing or a Curse. In my belief, when the man suffers, the Lands gets cursed.
As the desire for Freedom is the root cause of my pain and suffering, how can I receive the Blessings of Peace?
Rudra Narasimham Rebbapragada
Special Frontier Force-Establishment No.22
Living Tibetan Spirits
Vanished homelands of Tibet
Meghaa Aggarwal | Updated on October 18, 2019, Published on October 18, 2019
Living Tibetan Spirits. Marginalized Existence in Exile.
Uncertain ground: The politics of Tibet’s geography is so contested that even a map of the region could land the publishers in trouble.
Madhu Gurung’s deeply researched anthology Tibet With My Eyes Closed, evokes the history, culture, and identity of a community that is at risk of being forgotten
Sixty years ago, Chinese occupation forced the 14th Dalai Lama to flee Tibet and seek refuge in India. Thousands of Tibetans followed him, giving up a nomadic, agrarian life for a marginalized existence in exile. The 11 stories that make up journalist Madhu Gurung’s anthology Tibet With My Eyes Closed are true accounts of displaced Tibetans trying to find salvation in the midst of heartbreaking loss.
Dehradun-based Gurung has worked with organizations such as Oxfam, UNIFEM, BBC, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Her first book The Keeper of Memories, historical fiction on the Gorkhas, was shortlisted for the Shakti Bhatt First Book Award in 2016. The author, whose mother was Tibetan, seems driven by a passionate need to inform. She begins the book with a background to Tibet, which instinctively makes me seek out a map. That’s when the irony hits home. We are talking of such fraught geography that even an innocuous map of the Tibetan region can land publishers in trouble!
Living Tibetan Spirits. Marginalized Existence in Exile.
Tibet With My Eyes Closed: Stories Madhu Gurung Speaking Tiger Non-fiction ₹350
Prayer flags of five colors — blue, white, red, green and yellow — representing the five core elements of space, wind, fire, water, and earth respectively are synonymous with Tibetan Buddhism. The stories in this anthology have been divided under the colors of the prayer flags and have some elements of the colors woven into their background. The author has also added an insightful introduction explaining the significance of the flags and how the elements have inspired her stories. However, the associations feel somewhat tenuous and I found myself wondering whether it was necessary to divide the contents as well as feature an introduction to explain the division. The anthology opens with stories of refugees besieged by memories of home as they try to regain their lives under a foreign sky. It then transitions to the experiences of a new generation of Tibetans born and brought up in India, carving out their paths and identities in the new land. Mid-way, one learns of the tragic guerrilla wars that the Tibetans waged for their homeland from the windswept Mustang Plateau in Nepal. Towards the end, it speaks of the human ability to persevere and dream of possibilities, despite great odds. References to the Chushi Gangdruk, the guerrilla Tibetan army that waged war against the Chinese, and the 22 Establishment, a secret force of Tibetans recruited by India in the wake of its humiliating defeat in the Sino-Indian war of 1962, appear several times across the book. However, sufficient variety is provided by the stories of a Tibetan man’s pursuit of an Indian passport, of a young man who gives up monkhood to embrace his sexual identity and of a grieving old widow who finds solace in stray dogs.
Tibet with my Eyes Closed is not an unputdownable page-turner. It is a compilation of stories laced with facts and observations that compel the reader to pause. The author takes no shortcuts in her effort to build narratives that are not only immersive but also greatly illuminating. However, in places, the details seem extraneous. For instance, in the story, Tibet With My Eyes Closed, the author speaks of Tibetan poet, writer and activist Lhasang Tsering whose poem inspired the title of this anthology. She writes about how he is greatly influenced by the saint and poet Milarepa who is revered in Tibet for his songs. But she doesn’t end there. She writes of how Tsering was born exactly 900 years after Milarepa and how his songs have also been translated in English, in a book called the Shambhala. Such additions appear somewhat forced, as the story would read much the same without them. I was fascinated by the author’s journey to Mustang in pursuit of former Chushi Gangdruk warriors, as documented in the story, In the Footsteps of Buddha’s Warriors. Not only is it a testament to the author’s keen research but also to the undaunted commitment to her subject. Unlike the other stories in this anthology, In the Footsteps of Buddha’s Warriors and Amala, which is a memoir of the author’s mother, are both personal accounts. This prompted me to wonder whether it might have been better to have them as part of a longer introduction that spoke of the experiences driving the author’s writing. These, however, are minor misgivings about this much-feted collection that has been endorsed by several prominent personalities. I just wished, though, that all these endorsements had been kept on the back cover or some of them shifted inside, to leave the reader with more room to admire the striking cover painting and design by Vikram Singh Verma. With the sky and mountains in shades of red against a monastery in tones of black and white, the cover is deeply atmospheric and stirring. If the role of literature is to create empathy and build understanding, Tibet with My Eyes Closed succeeds amply. It is an important piece of literature about a people and region, that, as Shashi Tharoor puts it in his endorsement, ‘are at risk of being forgotten’.
Meghaa Aggarwal works in children’s publishing and writes features on education and the environment
Published on October 18, 2019 book review
Living Tibetan Spirits. Marginalized Existence in Exile.
I LIVE IN EXILE. I DO NOT ENJOY AMERICA’S FREEDOM
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I AM A REFUGEE. I DO NOT ENJOY AMERICA’S FREEDOM
His Holiness the Dalai Lama had to flee from Tibet in 1959 for he sensed a threat to his life from the Chinese authority. I joined the Tibetan Resistance Movement in India on September 22, 1971. I experienced threat to my existence on three separate occasions from the Chinese authority that forces the Dalai Lama to live in Exile. The threat posed by China has stolen my freedom.
I have chosen the profile image of my stolen Indian Army picture ID to describe my plight on account of my stolen freedom. My Indian Army picture ID was stolen in 1972 at Cuttack, near Charbatia Air Base operated by Aviation Research Centre (ARC). My Indian Army picture ID was purposefully stolen because of my association with The Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW or RAW), the Intelligence Agency of India which formulated my association with The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). My stolen Indian Army ID of 1972 resurfaced in Indian Movie TE3N in 2016. It accounts for the loss of my freedom and the fear it arouses in my heart since 1972.
Rudra Narasimham Rebbapragada
SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE-ESTABLISHMENT NO. 22
Am a refugee but I enjoy India’s freedom: Dalai Lama
By: FE Online | Published: October 14, 2019, 4:16:48 PM
Dalai Lama has been living in India since 1959. He had to flee Tibet after he sensed a threat to his life from the Chinese authority in the wake of Tibetan uprising. Former Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru offered Dalai Lama to set up the Government of Tibet in Exile in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh.
Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama on Sunday hailed India for its freedom and said that he has been here for the last 60 years as a refugee but still enjoys the freedom that this country offers. “We already enjoy freedom in India. It’s been 60 years…one way, I am a refugee, but I enjoy India’s freedom,” he said while responding to a question on his freedom struggle for Tibet. When asked about whether he thinks that Tibetans can get freedom by living in India, Dalai Lama said that he had tried to go back to Tibet but that could not happen because there was no freedom to preserve “our own culture”. The spiritual leader said that he had also appealed to the United Nations in this regard.
“At that time Pandit (Jawahar Lal) Nehru advised me that the United Nations can not do much…sooner or later much better to approach Chinese and talk to China. I think that was realistic advice. And in 74, we decide(ed) not to take independence, (we) tried to remain within the Republic of China but we should have got certain rights (from China) for the preservation of our own culture,” he told news agency ANI.
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BUDDHISM IS AN INCOMPLETE STUDY OF THE MAN
Lord Gautama Buddha’s simple preachings have generated intense debate and discussion among his followers leading to the creation of different Schools of Buddhist Thought, varying traditions, apart from the production of volumes of literature in various human languages.
In my analysis, Lord Gautama Buddha and the various brands of Buddhism with established traditions have failed to formulate a complete ‘Theory of Man’. In my view, Buddhism as such is an incomplete study of the Man for it fails to comprehend the nature of the living matter, the living substance, the corporeal matter described in Biology as ‘protoplasm’ or ‘cytoplasm’ which is found in all living things.
The spiritual inquiry, the spiritual investigation, the spiritual study of the Man demands the learning process called ‘Adhyatma Vidya’, the Knowledge of Self, or the spiritual journey called Self-Discovery to answer the two fundamental questions about the Man. The questions are 1. Who am I? and 2. Why am I like this? Lord Gautama Buddha’s life journey begins with a quest to find answers for the conditioned nature of human existence but his study remains incomplete for he has not studied the human being whose existence is conditioned.
Rudra Narasimham Rebbapragada
Special Frontier Force-Establishment No. 22
‘Buddhism in Tibet is a complete tradition’
Suganthy Krishnamachari. OCTOBER 10, 2019
Venerable Samdhong Rinpoche, Tibetan Buddhist monk | Photo Credit: B_JOTHI RAMALINGAM
Venerable Samdhong Rinpoche speaks of the salient features of the religion, which originated in India
Beginning his study of Buddhism in the Gadhan Dhechenling Monastery, in Tibet, Venerable Samdhong Rinpoche, came to India in 1959, at the age of 20. He headed the Central Tibetan Administration, Dharamsala, for two terms. A highly regarded scholar of Buddhism, he has held many important positions with academic and administrative responsibilities. A few of them: Member General Body Indian Council of Philosophical Research; member, Governing Council, Asiatic Society, Kolkata; member of the National Advisory Committee for Buddhist Studies; President, Association of Indian Universities; President, Coomaraswamy Centre for Traditional Studies, Lucknow; member, Association of Commonwealth Universities. Member, Governing Body, Krishnamurti Foundation of India, Chennai; member, Expert Advisory Committee, Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
Venerable Samdhong Rinpoche was in Chennai for a short visit. The following are excerpts from an interview with him:
What are the distinctive features of Tibetan Buddhism?
First of all, there is no such thing as Tibetan Buddhism. It is an expression, which Western scholars use, and I do not know why they do. Do you talk of British Christianity or American Christianity? There are different schools of philosophy in Buddhism like Mahayana, Hinayana, etc. But Buddhism is not divided by geography. If at all there is any country to which Buddhism belongs, that is India, because Buddha was born here. It is Indians who can take pride in Buddhism because it originated here.
I stand corrected. Let me rephrase the question. What is special about Buddhism in Tibet?
Buddhism in Tibet is a complete tradition. Educational centers such as Nalanda, Taxila, Bodhgaya, and Sarnath produced Buddhist canonical literature. All of this was translated into the Tibetan language.
How big is this collection of Tibetan works?
We have a compilation of 108 volumes of Buddha’s teachings. It includes 3,000 titles. Woodblock techniques have been used to preserve ancient Tibetan texts. We also have 223 volumes of commentaries of Indian scholars, which include 4,000 titles. The topics range from Mahayana and Hinayana to Ayurveda, dharma, and literature.
Prof. Hahn’s dissertation was on Vrttamalastuti, where each stanza illustrated a different Sanskrit meter. It was a text that was preserved only in a Tibetan translation. And this kindled Hahn’s interest in recovering the Sanskrit literature of Buddhism from Tibetan translations. So, would it be correct to say that Tibetan translations have helped preserve the Buddhist tradition, because of the possibility of re-translations from Tibetan to Sanskrit?
Certainly. Tibetan translations are the most accurate, and the Tibetan collection is also the largest available translation of Buddhist texts. The original texts, which were in Sanskrit were lost when Nalanda University was destroyed. Mahayana texts were in Sanskrit, whereas Hinayana texts were mostly in Prakrit. In Tibet, Mahayana school is followed. So, if we want the original Sanskrit texts about Mahayana, we can now work backward from Tibetan to Sanskrit. So, in that way, the Tibetan translations help us to get back the basic Sanskrit texts.
Hahn was a close friend of mine. But even before Hahn, there were other European scholars who took an interest in Buddhist literature which had been translated to Tibetan. The Italian scholar Tucci, for instance. Tibet enjoys an unbroken lineage of Buddhism, and before the days of Communism, Buddhists from Russia and Mongolia came to Tibet and studied Buddhist teachings preserved in the Tibetan language.
You talk about Mahayana texts in Sanskrit. What about the commentaries? Were they also in Sanskrit?
Yes, but Buddhist Sanskrit is a hybrid Sanskrit. It is a mixture of Sanskrit, Prakrit, Apabrahmsa, etc. Paninian sutras were not strictly followed.
Why was it a hybrid?
Because the Buddha spoke in a simple language. He wanted his teachings to reach the masses. So, he spoke a language that was easy to understand.
And what about efforts at translation now? Are they continuing?
A lot of translation work has been going on in the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies in Sarnath, Varanasi. It is a deemed University. I was associated with the Institute for 30 years, first as Principal and then director. One hundred Tibetan Buddhist texts have been translated to Sanskrit by the scholars in this University.
Where can we find the largest collection of Tibetan texts?
In the Library of Congress in the U.S.
And in India?
The Institute of Tibetology in Sikkim, the library in Dharamsala, in Sarnath and the Central Institute of Buddhist studies in Leh, Ladakh.
What is the Tibetan way of ordination for monks?
In the bhikshu ordination, mulsarvastivadin school is followed in Tibet.
Does Buddhism in Tibet follow Tantric traditions?
Wherever Mahayana is followed, there is a tantric tradition. So, this is not unique to Tibet.
Does Buddhist art vary according to the school of philosophy followed?
If you observe minutely, there might be some differences. But by and large, art is just an expression of imagination. So, there are only a few minor variations. But mandala constructions are found only in art based on Vajrayana, which is a part of Mahayana.
MY COMMENT ON THE ABOVE INTERVIEW BY MS.SUGANTHY KRISHNAMACHARI WAS NOT APPROVED BY THEHINDU.COM
| ‘Buddhism in Tibet is a complete tradition’ on thehindu.com |
| My Comment: |
| Buddhism is an incomplete study of the man: I am affiliated to a military organization called Special Frontier force-Establishment No. 22-Vikas Regiment where I medically examined hundreds of Tibetan men and women. Lord Gautama Buddha’s preachings are essentially simple. However, they generated numerous interpretations and massive human literature in different languages. He examined the conditioned nature of human existence without fully examining the human being whose existence is conditioned. Buddhism remains an incomplete study irrespective of its various traditions. It is incomplete for it does not study the living matter or the living substance of the man while sharing views on the human condition of the living being with a physical form that we identify as the man. |
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A FRESH LOOK AT THE TIBETAN RESISTANCE MOVEMENT IN INDIA
Ms. Madhu Gurung in her book, “Tibet With My Eyes Closed” takes a fresh look at the Tibetan Resistance Movement in India.
Rudra Narasimham Rebbapragada
SpecialFrontierForce
Review: Tibet With My Eyes Closed by Madhu Gurung
A fresh look at the experience of Tibetan refugees in India
BOOKS Updated: Oct 04, 2019 19:03 IST
Thubten Samphel
Hindustan Times
253pp, Rs 350; Speaking Tiger
There is a new interest in Tibet and Tibetan culture amongst the Indian public. This is because of the Dalai Lama’s tireless efforts to reach out to the Indian public to alert them to the relevance of ancient India’s wisdom in our vexing times. There is also whispered foreboding of what would happen to the Tibetan community in India and elsewhere and the fate of Tibet itself when he is no longer what us.
Tibet With My Eyes Closed is a fresh look at the experience of the Tibetan refugees in India and the pain of separation of families and being uprooted from their homeland. It is also of a story of how the community as a whole faced and still faces the challenges of adaption and survival.
In her exploration and discovery of the Tibetan refugee community in India, Madhu Gurung quotes an old Tibetan proverb. “If I tell you my dream, you might forget it. If I act on my dream, perhaps you will remember it, but if I involve you — it becomes your dream too.” Madhu Gurung’s dream of the Tibetan community in exile is a gentle paring of the community’s many layers of strength, weakness, human quirks and the need to survive as an individual and community.
The author kicks off her Tibetan story by narrating in broad contours the birth of the resistance movement in Tibet in the 1950s. This resistance relocated to Mustang in Nepal and then fought in Bangladesh’s war for independence. Some scholars call the Tibetan soldiers who fought in the war “Phantoms of Chittagong.” Sangay, the main protagonist in Gurung’s first story Zinda, was a little boy when members of his family whispered the formation of the resistance in central Tibet. He expressed his wish to join the resistance. He was told to wait till he became thirteen. Then, “You … will be of some use to them.”
Tibetan resistance grew not only because of repression and forced land distribution but also because of the implementation of the Great Leap Forward with its excessive stress on industrialization to the neglect of agriculture and production of food. This created the biggest famine in Chinese history and Tibet was caught up in this man-made disaster.
Madhu Gurung ( Courtesy the author )
Sangay and his father, leaving with excruciating pain other family members, including his mother, behind in Tibet, were able to escape this political disaster and the great famine. In India “everything was strange – the language, the food and the people.” At school, he got a greater shock, a huge dent to his Tibetan pride and sense of self and identity. He discovered that the Tibetans were the ‘nowhere’ people. His schoolmates did not know where Tibet was.
However, during the period of ‘liberalization’ which the post-Mao leader Deng Xiaoping initiated in China and Tibet, Sangay was able to return to Tibet and bring his mother to their new home in Dehradun auspiciously named Zinda. Shakti Gurung informs the readers that Sangay’s home village in Tibet called Zinda which the author says in Hindi means “Alive.”
That Sangay survived all these ordeals is a tribute to his character and his generation of Tibetan refugees. Back in the late 1950s while on their way to Lhasa, someone in his group shouted: “Lhasa is burning.” These days rather than burning Lhasa is drowning in concrete, amazing infrastructure development and the sheer weight of the growing demographic strength of the migrant Chinese workers. Tibet With My Eyes Closed is a cautionary tale for the countries and people strung along the Himalayan belt. You might be next, maybe an exaggeration but exaggeration is not enough to describe the true intentions and scale of the People’s Republic of China’s ambitions. The book is also a cautionary tale for the coming generation of Tibetan exiles. They inherit a cohesive and productive community scattered across the globe, a legacy of the first generation of Tibetan refugees. Keeping its cohesion and productivity will be a huge challenge in the coming years of adversity.
Thubten Samphel is an independent researcher and a former director of the Tibet Policy Institute
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MY REFLECTIONS ON THE HINDU-SIKH CONNECTION. INDIVIDUAL vs GROUP IDENTITY
MY REFLECTIONS ON THE HINDU-SIKH CONNECTION. INDIVIDUAL vs GROUP IDENTITY:
I ask my readers to give their attention to the problem of Individual Identity vs Group Identity. I identify the action called ‘Compassion’ with the Individual Identity and I associate the action called ‘Aggression’ with the Group Identity.
The Sikhs like all other human beings have to know the dimensions of Individual and Group Identities.
I concede that the Group Identity named ‘Tat Khalsa’ may give some political advantages to channelize acts of aggression towards other human groupings such as the Hindus. The Tat Khalsa Community gets energized by collectively expressing their hatred and animosity towards individuals that they perceive as their Enemy. I am not surprised to find Christians and Muslims supporting the aggressive stance of the Tat Khalsa for their own political gains. If the political factor is removed, the Sikh Doctrine cannot be energized by the Christain or Muslim Doctrine. The Tat Khalsa may win its battle against the Hindu but will succumb to the collective energy of either Christian or Muslim Group who desire to benefit by encouraging the Group Rivalry between the Sikhs and the Hindus.
SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE-THE KEY TO HUMAN NATURE-INDIVIDUAL vs GROUP IDENTITY: “SARVESHAM SWASTIR BHAVATU”
What is Man? The motivation for asking this question comes from a statement expressed in the Sanskrit language, “Sarvesham Swastir Bhavatu” which seeks the well-being of all humans of all races, of all cultures, of all religions, and of all nations. Our efforts to support the well-being of man would be affected by our understanding the ‘real’, or ‘true’ nature of man. All human traditions including several philosophical and scientific traditions make assumptions about human nature. The basic assumption about human nature is that of finding it displayed in feelings, thoughts, moods, action, and behavior. I try to know human nature from the functional characteristics that are observable in biotic interactions of cells, tissues, and organs that constitute the human organism. If a man is viewed as a multicellular organism, I need to discover the human nature of this subject who lives because of the functions of the cells, tissues, and organs that provide the structural basis of the human organism.
THE KEY TO HUMAN NATURE – EVOLUTION vs CREATION :
Man’s evolution from ape-like ancestors is thought to be the key to our true human nature. Ethology or the scientific study of animal behavior is based on the Theory of Evolution. In order to explain the human condition, ethological theories of human nature appeal to the evolutionary past of man.
Lorenz sees man as an animal who has evolved from other animals. He thinks that human behavior is subject to the same causal laws of nature as all animal behavior. Many patterns of animal behavior show “hereditary coordination” or “instinctive movements” that are innate rather than learned. The ‘instinctual’ behavior is fixed and may not be eliminated or altered by the environment. Instinct is inherited and it is essentially unlearned behavior. Some of the most important aspects of animal behavior are innate. Lorenz studied the nature of instinctive behavioral acts. The instinctual behavior is caused by a ‘drive’ which causes the behavior to appear spontaneously. The “four big-drives” are feeding, reproduction, flight, and aggression. Very often, behavior is activated by two or more basic drives. To account for an instinctive behavior pattern in a species, reference is made to its survival value it has for the genes for that behavior. To explain the existence of any particular organ or behavior pattern, Lorenz looks for its survival value for the species. In his book, “On Aggression” ( 1963 ), he explains the natural history of man’s aggressive behavior. He considers that man has an innate drive to aggressive behavior towards his own species like many other animals. Fighting and warlike behavior in man have an inborn basis. He seeks an evolutionary explanation for human innate aggressiveness or ‘Intra-Specific’ aggression which is concerned with fighting and threats between members of the same species. The most destructive aspect of human aggression is its communal nature and the fighting is not between individuals but between groups. Humans fight as groups and human beings are the only animals to indulge in the mass slaughter of their own species. He explains that this innate aggressive behavior has evolved from the communal defense response of our pre-human ancestors. However, Lorenz made no scientific study of behavior displayed by apes. Among the members of Homo genus, man is the only surviving representative of the Homo sapiens species and hence it will not be easy to validate his conclusions about the evolutionary origin of innate human aggressive behavior. If aggression is viewed as a hereditary behavior which is based upon its survival value for the genes for that behavior, it must be noted that all human ancestors had perished and have gone extinct and the behavior of aggression could not be of value in defending their survival as a species.
COMPASSION WITHIN THE INDIVIDUAL AND BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS :
Compassion or sympathy( sym=together + pati=suffer ) describes the emotional feelings of sorrow for the sufferings or troubles of another person or others accompanied by an urge to help. Compassion describes an understanding arising from the sameness of emotional feeling. When man recognizes pain or sorrow in the lives of others, it spontaneously arouses the emotional feelings of compassion.
This understanding and the emotional response to the pain and suffering in the lives of others appears to be instinctive. Apart from the “four big-drives”, compassion is operated by an innate drive or it is a motivated behavior. Compassion and altruism( any behavior that appears to favor another individual’s chances of survival ) is a response generated by human nature.
Compassion acts like a physical force, power, or energy. It has the power to uplift the man from physical pain and mental, or emotional pain or sorrow. The instinct of compassion comes into play and acts as a force, power, or energy when a man experiences sorrow and reacts to the suffering or troubles of another man. I am also suggesting that the emotionally motivated behavior of compassion is found within individuals apart from between individuals.
If my experience of pain or suffering does not elicit the emotional response of compassion from others, fortunately, I can derive the benefit of the uplifting power of compassion by simply knowing the source of compassion that exists within myself.
When a person is enjoying a state of good health, we find that the cells, tissues, and organs of that human person are interacting with each other in a harmonious manner and these intraspecific biotic interactions display characteristics such as mutual assistance, mutual cooperation, mutual tolerance, and mutual functional subservience to provide a benefit to the human individual who lives because of the functions of these cells, tissues, and organs. The constituent parts of the human body interact with each other with a sense of devotion, sympathy, compassion, and understanding.
We often try to find compassion in the actions performed by others in response to the pain and suffering that we may experience. We describe compassion from the thoughts, emotional feelings, understanding, and sympathetic response that we witness in the behavior and action of others.
I recognize compassion in the nature of the interactions between the cells, tissues, and organs of my body and consider that such compassion always operates to keep me the human person in good and positive health. I understand the reality of human existence and suggest that the existence is made possible because compassion is innate to human nature guiding the normal living functions both in health and sickness. I observe the operation of compassion in the wound healing mechanism that is described as ‘Inflammation and Repair’. The emotional feelings of compassion are important for the survival of the man who exists to find emotional satisfaction from his living experience. The instinctive behavior of compassion supports the survival of man as it provides an emotional sense of satisfaction and contentment which contributes to the experience of joy and happiness in life.
COMPASSION IS THE KEY TO HUMAN NATURE:
The biological properties, characteristics, and the biological nature of the living substance or protoplasm could account for an instinctive behavior pattern like compassion. Biological functions and characteristics such as nutrition, recognition, awareness, responsiveness, and communication with other living cells have not evolved because of their survival value for the species. At a fundamental level, certain living characteristics or nature is innate or implanted in the matter at the beginning of life. The nature called compassion is implanted or innate to the living substance or matter which is known as protoplasm.
I make the distinction between Individual Identity and Group Identity. The first operates to display behavior or actions called Compassion. The second operates to display behavior or actions called Aggression. Human Aggressive Behavior is of particular concern as humans when acting as a Group cause more harm and destruction as compared to their actions when acting strictly as Individuals.
Rudra Narasimham Rebbapragada
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA 48104
SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE
THE CITIZENSHIP OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN ON EARTH
THE CITIZENSHIP OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN ON EARTH
On September 17, 2019, I celebrate Constitution Day and Citizenship Day reflecting upon the words shared by Apostle Paul in his Second Letter to the Ephesians.
On Tuesday, September 17, 2019, as the nation celebrates Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, I have no reason to feel unloved, unimportant, or insecure for I remember to whom and to which Kingdom I belong.
Rudra Narasimham Rebbapragada
SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE
September 17, 2019
Constitution Day and Citizenship Day
Constitution Day and Citizenship Day is a single celebration that commemorates the formation and signing of the US Constitution while also recognizing both naturalized citizens and those born in the US. It’s a day to learn about these subjects, as well as a day many people become naturalized citizens in group ceremonies. (On average, about 700,000 people become US citizens every year.) To celebrate, we’re looking at an unusual close-up of the Statue of Liberty, a welcoming sight to immigrants and a symbol of freedom since 1886. The statue’s tablet has the date of the signing of the Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776) inscribed in Roman numerals: JULY IV MDCCLXXVI.
So why is today both Constitution Day and Citizenship Day? The reason is rooted in the World War II era. In 1940, Congress created I Am an American Day, a demonstration of US patriotism. Twelve years later, President Harry Truman signed into law Citizenship Day, which replaced I Am an American Day and moved the observance to September 17, the day the Constitution was signed in 1787. Eventually, in 2004 the day was designated as the mash-up of observances we have today—the jointly celebrated Constitution Day and Citizenship Day.
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BACKSTABBERS OF THE TIBETAN NATION. THE DOOMED PRESIDENCY OF NIXON AND FORD
BACKSTABBERS OF THE TIBETAN NATION. THE DOOMED PRESIDENCY OF NIXON AND FORD
On September 08, 1974, President Gerald R. Ford grants unconditional pardon to Richard M Nixon, 37th President of the United States of America. I served in Special Frontier Force during the presidency of Nixon and Ford. I live in Ann Arbor, Michigan where I have the opportunity to visit Gerald R. Ford’s Presidential Library on the University of Michigan Campus.
In my opinion, President Ford’s pardon may not include Nixon’s Vietnam Treason. I cannot grant pardon to Nixon for he had never admitted his crime of Betrayal, Treachery in the conduct of the Vietnam War. I still recognize Nixon and Ford as Backstabbers of Tibetan Nation. Their Presidency doomed for they failed to play the ‘Tibetan Card’.
Rudra Narasimham Rebbapragada
This Day in History: Ford pardons Nixon
SEPTEMBER 08
In a controversial executive action, President Gerald Ford pardons his disgraced predecessor Richard Nixon for any crimes he may have committed or participated in while in office. Ford later defended this action before the House Judiciary Committee, explaining that he wanted to end the national divisions created by the Watergate scandal.
The Watergate scandal erupted after it was revealed that Nixon and his aides had engaged in illegal activities during his reelection campaign–and then attempted to cover up evidence of wrongdoing. With impeachment proceedings underway against him in Congress, Nixon bowed to public pressure and became the first American president to resign. At noon on August 9, Nixon officially ended his term, departing with his family in a helicopter from the White House lawn. Minutes later, Vice President Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as the 38th president of the United States in the East Room of the White House. After taking the oath of office, President Ford spoke to the nation in a television address, declaring, “My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.”
Ford, the first president who came to the office through appointment rather than election, had replaced Spiro Agnew as vice president only eight months before. In a political scandal independent of the Nixon administration’s wrongdoings in the Watergate affair, Agnew had been forced to resign in disgrace after he was charged with income tax evasion and political corruption. Exactly one month after Nixon announced his resignation, Ford issued the former president a “full, free and absolute” pardon for any crimes he committed while in office. The pardon was widely condemned at the time.
Decades later, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation presented its 2001 Profile in Courage Award to Gerald Ford for his 1974 pardon of Nixon. In pardoning Nixon, said the foundation, Ford placed his love of country ahead of his own political future and brought needed closure to the divisive Watergate affair. Ford left politics after losing the 1976 presidential election to Democrat Jimmy Carter. Ford died on December 26, 2006, at the age of 93.
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BLESSINGS FOR PEACE FROM THE HOLY WATERS OF YAMDROK LAKE
BLESSINGS FOR PEACE FROM THE HOLY WATERS OF YAMDROK LAKE
Aerial View of Yamdrok Lake in Tibet
The scenery of the Yamdrok Lake and surrounding villages in Nagarze County of Shannan, Tibet. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)
Placid and peaceful: enjoy the aerial view of Tibet’s holy lake, Yamdrok Lake.
SHANNAN, Sept. 2, 2019 (Xinhua) — Yamdrok Lake with an area of about 590 square km is located in Nagarze County in the city of Shannan, Tibet. It’s about 100 kilometers south of the region’s capital Lhasa.
Yamdrok Lake along with Lake Namtso and Lake Manasarovar are regarded as the three holy lakes of Tibet.
The scenery of the Yamdrok Lake in Nagarze County of Shannan, Tibet. (Xinhua/Li Xin)
The scenery of the Yamdrok Lake in Nagarze County of Shannan, Tibet. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje
The scenery of the Yamdrok Lake in Nagarze County of Shannan, Tibet. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)
The scenery of the Yamdrok Lake in Nagarze County of Shannan, Tibet. (Xinhua/Li Xin)
The scenery of the Yamdrok Lake in Nagarze County of Shannan, Tibet. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)
The scenery of the Yamdrok Lake in Nagarze County of Shannan, Tibet. (Xinhua/Li Xin)
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