The French philosopher Jean Francois Lyotard, in his book “The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge”, argued that all knowledge is subjective, fractured and fragmented, and that there is no one universal truth. Knowledge is not only the known but also the “revelation” or “articulation” of the unknown. Thus, he advocates the legitimation of knowledge by paralogy (false reasoning) as a form of legitimation that would satisfy both the desire for justice and the desire for the unknown.
This is the era of knowledges, not knowledge. People obsessively and authoritatively express themselves in areas of intellectual and emotional priorities. Our fragmented existence results in the ‘anarchy of thoughts’.
Indian Constitution, Jawaharlal Nehru, RSS, Mahatma Gandhi, Joseph Stalin, Sati, Poverty, Illiteracy, Child / Widow marriage, Democracy, WW-1, Valadamir Putin, North Korea, Ayodhya and many more… on each of these people madly, obsessively and authoritatively express themselves intellectually and emotionally in the news papers and social media. Everybody is expressing everywhere! This can only result in the ‘Anarchy of Thoughts’.
Allow me to explain with few current issues: India celebrated landing on the Moon’s south pole. The widespread euphoria was contagious. Chandrayaan-3 was a movement towards scientific quest, failure and achievement. It took us away from the humdrum of strife, conflict, and ideological and political propaganda that threaten to weigh heavily upon our identity, rationality and reason. The anarchy of thoughts everywhere.
DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin stirred controversy over Sanatana Dharma. The whole discourse changed from Chandrayaan-3 to criticizing or defending Udhayanidhi. Not many know how ISRO achieved its space mission or what Sanatana Dharma is. But the anarchy of thoughts everywhere.
The invitation from the ‘President of Bharat’ for the G20 Summit in New Delhi has taken us by surprise. The name of an individual is a personal identity. The name of a country is its collective identity. Changing the name of an individual or place or nation has to be a democratic process. Else, it validates power. But the anarchy of thoughts everywhere.
T S Eliot borrowed three Sanskrit words from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad—Datta (to give charity), Dayadhvam (to be compassionate), and Damyata (self-control)—for his poem, The Waste Land. It ended with ‘shantih shantih shantih’.
There is an anarchy of thoughts on social media, WhatsApp, Telegram, Newspapers, Google, Television, You Tube…everywhere. Do not get carried away with your anarchy of thoughts like a log gets carried away by flood waters. Remember the three words – Charity, Compassionate and Self-control. May you not have anarchy of thoughts. Shantih, shantih, shantih.
About the Author
Dr. K. Raja Gopal Reddy is a seasoned internationally qualified Insurance professional.
What you are reading here, may not answer all the questions we have, but has the absolute power of asking unsettling questions which increase the interest in the strange world, and show the contradictory wonders lying just below the surface of the commonest things of life. Look at this disturbing but beautiful thought of Friedrich Nietzsche “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him”.
Dr. Reddy can be reached at: raja66gopal@gmail.com
