The eternal philosophical debate between determinism and free will can have a huge repercussion on how we live our life. If you adhere to the libertarian notion of free will, then you believe that you have control over your destiny to a larger extent; there might be circumstances where you do not have control, but by and large, you dictate your life’s outcome. On the other hand, if we espouse the concept of determinism, especially hard determinism, then we are mere puppets in this cosmos playing by the rules and constraints set by “someone else.” We happen to be in the second camp. We believe each and every moment of our lives is determined by entities outside our control, and we have absolutely no say on the last breath we took or the content of this article. If we live in a deterministic universe, how should we live our life? Or more importantly, is it necessary to find meaning and purpose in life when we do not have any control?
These kinds of existential questions have been haunting us for the last 20 years, and the more we think about them, the void and chronic emptiness in us get more intense. Is this life worth living? Every morning, the same question. Material fulfillment is there, and we are lucky to be around people who love us. Our health is sound, and we live in a time where human ingenuity knows no bounds. And still, every morning, the same question taunts us, “what is the meaning and purpose of this life”? You know you have everything, yet you feel nothing: no joy, no sorrow, no sadness.
Then, things change suddenly. Our purpose starts to have momentum. Our purpose is to inspire greatness in us and in others. We start feeling something. We feel like we have just woken up after being unconscious, and the first thing we do is wiggle our toes and see if we can move them. There are people who are dealing with void and emptiness, but they can quickly switch their physical and psychological state to a more pleasing scenario. We find this difficult to do. We are certain that modern medicine and psychiatry can diagnose and define our condition, but recently we have realized every human being feels this hollowness to a greater or lesser extent. Societal norms, stigma, and our cultural tendency to ostracize deep existential questions can make people hide these feelings. This, sadly, is a new form of existentialism, and we have decided to address and find a solution to this issue head-on.
Balancing Chronic Illness and College in Nepal
To address this issue, it is important to understand how we got here. Our chronic attachments to things that are inorganic have affected our relationship with entities that are alive, authentic, and genuine. Not to mention, our affinity towards material possession has rendered a form of lifelessness in us. We are increasingly devoid of emotions, feelings, and joy. In these circumstances, it is highly imperative that we find a way to connect with the human side of us. In a deterministic universe, human beings inherently have an innate nature that makes us human. Ironically, the industrial revolution, free-market capitalism, and the new digital and technological breakthroughs have created a schism between objective and subjective humans. Objective humans respond to environmental cues, and their behavior is predictable, while a subjective human lies in the background, guiding the objective human. This subjective human is increasingly becoming disconnected from the objective human, and it is this disconnect we are trying to reduce.
Subjective humans are imaginative and have profound emotions. They like art, music, fiction, and telling stories, and above all, they are animists. However, when objective humans run the show, feelings of detachment and melancholy are bound to occur. In this turbulent and cynical world ruled by objective humans who crush nature under our concrete black topped floors, what payback can we expect other than to be damned, harassed, discriminated against, and isolated? Our natural machines that make oxygen and peace are traded for lifeless monuments and fake ‘gratification product synthesis machines’. It is a terrible world where insights don’t come, inspiration dies, and charlatans run supreme because no one can spot the difference between genuineness and chicanery.
To realign the energies of subjective and objective humans, we have to look at the world from the height of 8,848 meters: the height of Mount Everest and the highest point on Earth. In this world, there are people who are trying to be at the consciousness level of 8,848-meter height and above. The fight between good and evil seems lost, and evil seems to have won. We are drowning in global warming, and rivers, lakes, and oceans will certainly engulf our cities. Yet, there still seem to be people who have been working tirelessly to make this world a better place. These are not mediocre beings, and they certainly have a higher consciousness to see what is transpiring around them.
The blindness of people towards their own greatness is the greatest problem facing the human race. It is not the doomsday threats due to global warming or nuclear war or meteorite strike that threaten our existence. People are blind to their own greatness but are able to spot greatness or mediocrity (for that matter) in others’. This is the problem. Have we genuinely asked ourselves “who am I?”
We can tell you how it feels if we can reduce the gap between our subjective and objective selves. Your heart feels as light as a feather, and bliss flows in your mind endlessly twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Each moment is filled with happiness and weightlessness. It feels like the baggage of suffering of this life has ended. When a troubling thought comes, it is swayed away like flushed water, and the bliss is sustained again. You can keep being in this state while working, talking, riding, and being conscious, and your sleeps are blissfully silent, and morning is pure and unadulterated, and nights are as dark and silent as they can get. Everything in this life feels relative – happiness and sadness, light and darkness, meaning and suffering. You will suddenly have an eagle eye view of all things that represent the duality of this world, and your well-being is sustained.
Mediocrity breeds more mediocrity, while greatness breeds more greatness. We want you to embrace your greatness in its pristine form. Since we live in a deterministic universe, our ideas will not resonate with everyone out there. If it resonates with you, then it was determined as well. As such, we invite you to take this journey with us and see how viewing the world from 8,848 meters can transform our body, mind, and soul. Remember, our species evolved by acquiring insight. However, when objectivity matches insight, then we transcend human boundaries.
