Express Philosophy

The famed TV personality Anthony Bourdain committing suicide in his hotel room was a sensational news. He was at work in France, doing another of his food shows. I have watched him on television, eating his way around the world and through many cultures. On television, his work seemed to be filled with fun and frolic. I liked his job and watched him often. Having achieved fame, he chose the path to end his life. It was a runaway mind killing a wonder-filled body. Ending the magnificence of life is too common among achievers. A famous fashion designer and brand leader, Kate Spade did the same weeks before Bourdain and the news was all over. I am sure investigators will dig up the causes. Yet, I believe nothing but their mind killed them. Mind does not register achievement and is never impressed by accolades. Somehow, the biochemistry of success seems not to last long in our body. It fades away as soon as the show ends. The mind goes back to looking for the next comparison an...

Fervor to be Free : A Tale of Tussle between Mind , Body and Us BACK PAGE A truly engaging book that takes you on an exciting journey through unexplored areas in the human mind, and the culture outside. From the breathtaking view from the balcony of the Hilton Hawaii to the cramped environs of a New Delhi courtroom, the author, in one breezy script, narrates his own experiences, not as mere ups and downs of life, but as events leading to answer every human’s eternal question: Who am I? Despite the limitations of his inherited genes, nurturing and turns of fate, he sets out to find his answers and ends up searching for something much greater: the purpose of his life. Bringing together science, religion, and his own life experiences, he lays bare the human mind and its mysterious workings in a manner few have attempted. The book effortlessly examines effervescent thoughts, compelling events, and executed actions that are so much a part of our lives agains...

The word freedom instantly bring the feeling of euphoria deep inside. Freedom is sought by everyone subconsciously, little knowing what our bondage really are.  We humans, as individuals, are unrestricted, disposable, replaceable and unwanted most of our lives. We only attach ourselves to our surrounding, to people and the system. This inner knowledge of our own worthlessness makes us worry and feel insecure. The fear of being left out drives us to these attachments. Most of us turn toward being copycats, without realizing that by doing this we are sacrificing our freedom. This takes us on a path of comparison and competition. We ape an idol, copy a neighbor, outdo a friend. People even change family, friends, companion, place, profession, ideology, a nose, and even gender to free themselves, but unknowingly they get bound to the pursuit of this new idea of freedom. The cycle turns over again, keeping one in shackles and away from being free. What is it then to be ...

 A loving companion indeed - but this device is secretly picking up pulse rate and heat beats of its host and keeping the physician alert.  Humans possess intelligence, though sign of it is visible in other forms of life too. But humans are possibly making use of it most.  Intelligence has led to invention. Amidst the chaos around, both intelligence and inventions are working to make a pattern, a practical and workable system in which we live now. My office chaos is taken care of by a handful of computers, and with them a system came to be in place. The clerks are gone. So are the ledgers. The answering machine handles the receptionist’s job. Computers take care of countless computational work, data storage, paper-processing and task reminders. The computer even corrects an absent-minded staff and at times takes over the job of a missing employee. My product deliveries within the city are transported clear of traffic clogs by a fast-thinking software working in a...

Interview with Dr. Partho Dhang Author of 'Fervor To Be Free' Partho Dhang is the author of the book 'Fervor To Be Free' A tale of tussle between mind, body and us. Tell us something about your title 'Fervor To Be Free' Partho: I will put this book in the category of motivational, self-guiding and philosophical. The book would help the reader to go deep into himself to find his core make-up. “Who he truly is?”, “What limits him from getting out of his continuous energy draining thoughts and feeling of being miserable?” or “Find his purpose in life”. Answers to these are provided in the book. I used myself as a human example to find my answers. The reader too will find his in the end. How do you think is your book different from others? Partho: Certainly, this book is very different as it relates the real-life events of a person. It brings philosophy, science, religion, news events and real life together in one narrative. The book, though ...

The lifestyle we have chosen has led us to a feeling of misery most of our times. The office CCTV camera had revealed that the staffs touch their phones every 4 mins in one observation. A study found that d uring peak times this number could go up to once every six or seven seconds, with some users unlocking their devices up to 900 times over the course of a day.   The information was collected by Android app Locket, which monitored how many times its 150,000 users checked their phone over in a day.  What people do with their phones may be personal but most attend to pings generated from social media sites, text messages and machines updates.  In fact s ocial media has evolved as a good respite to continue the euphoric mood and keep the miserable feeling away. I wonder often what would be the state of most of the humanity without it now. I see the social media has triggered chatting, sharing, travel frenzy, countless activities and nameless copycat actions ...

My motivation to write all about myself was to share the mere experience of being human. As a zoologist I studied animals of all forms, but humans eluded me. I grew curious as I lived my life, caught between the animal and the cultural halves of being a human. We are bizarre beings; our thoughts are habitually unfounded and our actions have a way of their own . We do lot of thinking but our actions are often inappropriate. We hate other humans but end up copying them. We seem to invite chaos but lecture on organization. We look for competition but relish cooperation. We talk of privacy but post every activity online. We chase pleasure for happiness and seek happiness through pleasure. We are a bag of confusion. Then how did we become what we are? Our living needs are of animal origin but we have elevated ourselves higher through the power of our mind. Mind is what made us human , a being, self-aware, conscious, intelligent. But we fail to explain why we are ready to jum...