the red pill

Chanced across some straight-as-a-bullet answers from J Krishnamurti to a few ordinary questions which I expect a lot of people would have.

[If you’ve watched the Matrix, please skip this para.

For those who haven’t or don’t recollect the details…

In the movie (lets ignore sequels please), Neo is a computer hacker who doubts whether there’s something beyond the obvious. Eventually, another person Morpheus offers Neo two pills The red pill is to come out of the matrix – simulation of the world as Neo has known it since his birth into “reality” which Neo only suspects but really has no clue about at all. And the blue pill to remain there with life continuing unchanged. Its a choice that Neo has to take *by himself*, Morpheus cannot really stuff it down Neo’s throat even in case he would’ve loved to 🙂 ]

Lets face it, the Red Pill by itself looks kind of unappealing. It would take an insatiable and genuine curiosity for one to actually take it. Its quite easy to merely speculate that one would decide to take it. Consider the super-short story: A frog is sitting on a lily pad. It decides to jump into the water. Where is it now? ……….. Answer: its still on the lily pad …since it only decided!! 🙂

“Everyone likes the idea of being purified by a dip in the Ganges, but to anyone standing on its banks as it emerges from the mountains at Rishikesh or Hardwar, icy cold and with a dangerous current, there has to be a moment of hesitation, if not outright retreat, before the actual plunge.” – Dr. Paul Fleischman

However there are also the likes of Red Pill Flavored Strawberry Milkshakes and Red Pill Masala Pappad available where a minute quantity of the pill is embedded in some tasty food, and the person who likes milkshakes or pappads for example can keep on consuming them for years together until he has consumed enough quantity of the Red Pill for it to have a slight effect. And for one who prefers this form of the pill, not a good or bad but just a different choice – it of course has its own benefits as well. Some potential pitfalls are that despite all the benefits, that he still gets stressed – sometimes even driven to violence – if someone happens to pass any unfavorable comment about his preference. Or that after a while, he suddenly gets fed of strawberry or allergic to pappad. Or in some occasions if the manufacturer is corrupt, he shockingly discovers adulteration in the food. In such cases, he eventually ends up concluding that the pill itself is worthless, and “not for him”. (On the other hand, its also possible that he eventually gets the courage to take the red pill itself).

The red pill is a metaphor of any truth. The tasty food could be anything like eloquent philosophical literature, singing or dancing ecstatically to melodious music perhaps praising some particular power, falling at the feet of a guru who performs miracles or solves all problems [I’m not referring to any frauds here, I believe there do exist pure-hearted people who are more powerful than we can imagine], or a wonderful energising breathing technique like Pranaayaama, or even something active and exciting like martial arts [more subtle concepts beyond the brick/fist breaking!] …. there’s a very long list here.

However there are only few people IMO who present the pill straightaway, no artificial coloring or flavoring added, and J Krishnamurthy is one of them.

I’m not his erstwhile fan where I voraciously consume every one of his books, but only occasional things that I’m referred to by friends, or those that I come across just by chance like the link I post below. One thing is he says “I have several questions here, and I shall try to answer them as briefly and clearly as possible.” but he generally seems to be incapable of saying anything “briefly” 😉 but still after wading through the words one might find he’s be stunningly to the point…

He’s seems to be pretty much speaking the way Einstein has commented “*while describing the truth, leave eloquence to the tailor*”. His words – which at times are hopelessly verbose – may easily be misinterpreted as a pessimistic rant, but a closer inspection might reveal otherwise. For example when he says he’s against marriage, IMO he’s only referring to the conventional idea of marriage. Considering that he’s a gentleman who’s known as one who has reached great heights in unconditionally freeing himself, I suppose his words are really out of nothing but compassion. I don’t accept everything he says, but I think he makes some pretty good points.

Warning: Once Neo takes the pill, coming out of his cosy comfortable cocoon and sliding down those long winding pipes is quite a long and not necessarily close to pleasant process… Reader discretion advised 😉

•  I have parents who are orthodox
  and who depend on me, but I myself have ceased to believe in their orthodoxy.
  How am I to  deal with such a situation?  This is a real problem
  to me.
• It us the universally accepted conclusion
  of modern intellectuals that educators have failed.  What is, then,
  the task of  those whose function it is to teach the young?
• Marriage is a necessary part
  of any organized society, but you seem to be against the institution of
  marriage. What do you  say?
• In my view, the guru is one who awakens
  me to truth, to reality. What is wrong in my taking to such a guru?

An afterthought to the nine dot puzzle’s solution – one thing is that since the box can represent things we’re comfortable with – I can attest that coming out of a box can usually be fairly intimidating. But when we do take a wary step outside, it gives an exhlirating sense of freedom, even if the next moment we run back inside again. But if we keep on trying this, the boundary finally becomes irrelevant!