Well, the last conversation of the day, at about 11:30, had me say: "we might as well be Hindus" . The other person nodded and said, " why not". And it ended there. But how did it begin?
Just a throwaway line about how we're both sick of eating meat and that it'd be better to eat just vegetables. (Followed by the now obligatory line about how India is doing much better than Pakistan). But nothing else. Just a casual conversation and no further reflections on it. Just let it brush by. Not too surprising either, since on Eid these sentiments usually come to the surface...i.e the colossal waste of life and money, the sheer 'showiness' of religion.
Someone once said that your truest dreams occur just before you wake up. Or maybe they're just the ones you can remember?
So, you wake up saying what you think are words in Hindi! Bizarre! Vir, Var and something else that you've now forgotten. You sit up for a minute trying to recollect. Now that you think of it, R does the same thing. Cheeky monkey!
Yes, that's it. In the dream there's also this weird object with parts that correspond with each of the three words. The first part is a large but thin brownish oval stone. Polished. It's connected to something like..well, something that reminds you of a tree. And this itself, as you move down, branches off into two symmetrical seeds. In fact, you remember hearing the words: " the double-seeded...". and finally this is connected to some roots which, strangely, are a mirror image of the whole object itself. And as if to indicate that there's no finality, the tip of those roots has another outgrowth that repeats the whole thing again (a fractal?)
[Er...what were you saying about therapy, Nabil?]
And what about the words? All you can recall is that 'vir' stands for human being and that that is what is highest.
Of course, now that you think of it , there was this essay by Coomaraswamy that you read many years back that talked about vir, wasn't there? And hadn't that strange student just a few days back asked you-you of all people-to review his essay on Coomaraswamy's essay on craftsmanship? And hadn't you been reading Sennett's 'The Craftsmen' that very day?
One should never look for the origins of dreams. It could be anything ! (the lack of c.r.'s , for example).
Walk to office in the early morning. Not a soul around. Dogs barking in the distance and crows craaing even though I can't see them. Past a lovely tree whose pink petals have nearly all fallen to the ground. Thought to myself, the other day: must take a photograph. And then again, why not just enjoy them and this fall...the strange (random, symmetrical?) pattern they form around the tree.
Leaf through a book on my desk and open it to the page I'd been reading two days back. The first lines that catch my eye are:
"For pray what is the end of Man? Is he created for Happiness? Or for Virtue? For this life or the next?"
Now I'll walk back and have some breakfast. So endeth the dream.
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5 comments:
from what book is the last quote?
do take those pictures, if only for me?
i have also been taking pictures of crows these days, remembering you. maybe tonight i'll post them.
i was walking with the youngsters i accompanied in Paris next to some trees, in the evening, the leaves were glowing, humid, it was raining a bit, and there was this amazing bird chirping coming from one tree, even if nothing was to be seen, no bird. then i said: oh how many birds singing. and a girl answered back: but there are no birds, can't you see, the leaves are singing.
(she was not being poetical, nor joking - they are special children, orphans, even if now in their twenties, a bit "retarded" as they say, it's always very sad but also delightful to be with them, they always see the world with other eyes - like children, in many ways).
b! clearly too many vegetables and not enough c.r.s in your diet ;) Love to read you, albeit a quiet reader. Hope you're doing well.
Roxana, it's a quote from Hume that I found in a very interesting book called 'The need for strangers' (by Ignatieff).
'Just for you'?! er..steady on, old girl.
:-)
crows and flowers. that sounds like a great title for a post!
I don't understand. which youngsters are these? some of your students from romania?
to see the world with other eyes. yes, that is priceless.
But yes, ur right, of course. by a strange quirk of fate, i was reading something very interesting on a related issue just yesterday (parts of macintyre's 'dependent rational animals'..in fact, i was going to label the post 'take care' but my mind is occupied -yes, hard to believe, I know, i know!-with other things.
anyways, thanks for popping in. always a pleasure to read your comments. Thanks!
Take care,
K.
nikki, there you are! :-) What a surprise. a very pleasant one at that too. where on earth have you been and what have you been up to?
Yes, I am well(ish) ..and you?
Take care,
K.
Excellent post,bravo.
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