When Woody Allen says "How can I possibly find the meaning in this finite world, given my shirt and waist size", he is not just being funny, he means it.
His point is, Life is inherently and utterly meaningless, So, instead of discovering and creating real meaning/value for our lives, the best we can do is, distract ourselves from this awful truth by all means(through love, relationships, art, career... what not).
While it may seem as the pinnacle of cynicism, at some level, its true. The universe is fleeting, its all random, it exists aimlessly out of nothing, and eventually it ceases to exist. So, nothing is permanent, since everything is part of the universe. If there is a real value/meaning, it has to be enduring/eternal. Since the universe is not eternal, and you are a part of it, your life is likewise ephemeral and so, meaningless.
I now understand why people believe/want-to-believe in God. Belief in God, creates some meaning and purpose to our lives. It makes you believe that you can exist in some form or another for an eternity. Thus the things you do in life would have some meaning. As Allen describes in "The purple rose of Cairo", Without God, our lives are like a accidentally made movie, with no intention/purpose behind it, with a series of random and chaotic scenes which don't mean anything and don't go anywhere. We might as well commit suicide if we know for sure that god doesn't exist. A seemingly funny line in "Love and Death" tells, "I'd hate to blow my brains out and then read in newspapers that they found something up there".
Anyway, now I started to believe that this question is beyond our understanding, and I do not want to waste my time worrying about it.
So, the next time I miss a deadline and my boss wants an explanation, or somebody gives me an advice on my lifestyle, I would quote the young Alvy Singer in "Annie Hall", "Whats the point, the universe is expanding, so one day it will break-apart, and thats the end of everything" and get-away with it :)
PS: This is a summary of the first essay in "Woody Allen and Philosophy" and now I'm scared to death reading this book any further :(
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Returning to blog after quite a long time!!! Nice post Raja
ReplyDeleteవిఫల ప్రేమలు జనాన్ని జీవితపు అర్థం వైపుకూ, తద్వారా తత్త్వశాస్త్రం వైపుకూ మళ్లించే అవకాశాలు పుష్కలంగా వున్నాయని విల్ డ్యురాంట్ చెప్తే నమ్మబుద్ధికాలేదు, ఎన్ని చారిత్రాత్మక ఉదాహరణలు చూపించినా; ఇప్పుడిప్పుడే నమ్మబుద్దవుతోంది. :P
ReplyDelete>>> "His point is, Life is inherently and utterly meaningless, So, instead of discovering and creating real meaning/value for our lives, the best we can do is, distract ourselves from this awful truth by all means(through love, relationships, art, career... what not).
So, now that the basic premise is strongly established, కుమ్ముకోండి జీవితాన్ని. :)
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ReplyDelete@ Meher
ReplyDeleteహా, హా.. కరక్టే, కాజువల్గా పడినా, విఫలప్రేమలు అని బహువచనం సరిగ్గా పడింది :)
RG,
ReplyDeleteWhy is 'meaninglessness' awful? I mean, I am curious. I, for one, find meaningless life to be an absolute bliss :)
RK
This is regarding your question on English Translations of Manu caritra. Since I don't have your email id either, I am commenting here. As I mentioned in my reply comment, C.P. Brown has not translated Manu caritra. He only got a critical edition of it published. There is one found at avkf: http://www.avkf.org/BookLink/display_titled_book.php?book_id=10476
ReplyDeleteThere seems to be a couple of other translation projects in progress. I got this information from yahoo group racchabanda.