That depends on what you mean by spirituality.

Death Valley National Park is just a two hour drive away from Las Vegas. In between the nights of bacchanalian revelry, we decide to spend one late afternoon driving as far as we can towards the national park.

On our way back, the sky begins to darken and by the time it is 7, it is pitch black. We decide to pull over on to the shoulder of the deserted road.

We step out into the chilly air and kill the lights and we look up towards the sky.

The desert sky is unaffected by light pollution. It is a cloudless night and the perfect time to be out looking at the skies. Even so, the sight almost knocks me off my feet.

I have never seen a more beautiful sight. There are more stars than I have ever seen before. They fill the entire sky. There are so many of them that the constellations that we can barely make out in our urban skies have all but disappeared. I can just discern Cassiopeia and Cepheus.

But the stars themselves. One needs no patterns to be awed by their beauty. And we can make out the individual stars that are relatively close to us. But in the distance, the stars are far away and so numerous that their light blends and they are blurred in the shape of a band. A great band that stretches from the north to the south of the entire night sky with a great rift in the middle. That is no ordinary band. It is the great spiral arm of our Milky Way galaxy.

It is a sight I have waited 14 years to see. I am speechless with emotion. It is perhaps the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. I look at all those stars and I think about our universe. About everything that it has gone through in almost 14 billion years. I think of the births and deaths of entire clusters of stars. The sheer scale of it all boggles the mind.

The immense stars of eons past that exploded spectacularly scattering their insides through the universe, seeding the creation of the sun and the solar system. All that matter from dying stars came together to form everything we know and see and feel and touch and breathe and eat. The sun, the earth, the moon, the trees, the rocks, the grass and us.

I look the all those stars and think about the civilizations that perhaps exist there, far beyond our detection. I think of those that might have already been destroyed and those that might still be created.

All the problems that we have ever faced seem to fade away. It’s beauty is indescribable. It is truly one of those sights that has to be seen to be believed. I stare silently for the better part of an hour.

As we reluctantly get back into the car, I realize that if that spectacular sight is what spirituality means, then I do believe in it.

My post on “The Euthyphro Dilemna” has been published on Generation Atheist.

It’s a great blog with excellent articles. Do check it out.

via the PTI

If the protests are meant to be taken seriously, why do they have to use a banner that spells out its message in what appears to be Comic Sans? Don’t they have a better font? It’s against all good sans….

This website explains why it is criminal to use Comic Sans indiscriminately.

Everyone has probably asked this question. The religious have their explanations but no evidence to back it up. The Hindu would tell me the purpose of life is to accumulate good karma, then die, be reborn ad infinity till  you finally break out of this cycle and gain a place in heaven. The followers of the Abrahamic religions also have their improbable tales of being born to not violate the “10 things we should not do” laws and finally meet God in paradise. Oh and if you are Muslim, you get 72 virgins to rape in the bargain.

Perhaps the most annoying point some people cutely try to make is, “The answer is 42! We should figure out the question!”. Up to a point, Douglas Adams fans are tolerable except when they stop asking the important questions and go on and on about the number 42 and about Adams’ genius. He clearly was a genius. You are not if you don’t stop.

This of course brings one back to the question itself. You can phrase it in any way, but for me the ultimate question will always remain, “What is the purpose of Life?”

While we waste our time fighting futile wars, supporting and living in an unsustainable monetary system and arguing over petty points like spelling mistakes, there may be a simple answer. I am an atheist but that does not mean I claim with certainty that God does not exist. I just say that I don’t see any evidence for it and hence do not believe in his existence. If anyone out there can show me incontrovertible and scientific evidence that there is God, I will become a man of faith. Show me any evidence for the purpose of life and I will believe in you.

Perhaps there isn’t any purpose to life and this is what I am inclined to believe in because there is no evidence to believe there is one. But like every other thing that we humans come up with, I propose a simple answer. How about we as a species for once agree that perhaps, for now, the ultimate purpose of life is to discover the ultimate purpose of life?

To quote the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it is “ a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith”. Another definition is “The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, esp. a personal God or gods.”

An interesting case was decided in the US Supreme Court in 1965. In United States vs. Seeger, the Supreme Court ruled for Daniel Seeger, who sought exemption from the military draft for conscientious objectors, without express belief in a Supreme Power. In its opinion, the supreme court said, “[T]he test of belief “in a relation to a Supreme Being” [in a law providing for conscientious objector status from military service] is whether a given belief that is sincere and meaningful occupies a place in the life of its possessor parallel to that filled by the orthodox belief in God . . . .” (source).

The facts of this case were that Seeger was a student who claimed exception from the military draft because his religious belief, he objected to war and that he should be granted exemption from serving in the military. He did not specify that his religion submitted to the belief in a “supreme being” and that his skepticism or disbelief in a God did not necessarily mean lack of faith in anything whatsoever. He was convicted by a lower court on account of his disbelief in a “Supreme Being”, but the Supreme Court reversed the judgement of the lower court on appeal. (Source)

There is no definition of “religion” in the constitution of either India or the US and many other countries. Which is why I don’t see any reason for anyone to take the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster as just satire. It has all the aspects of any mainstream religion, plus the God tastes delicious!

If anyone can come up with a legal reason as to why the Church of the FSM is not a religion, I will be happy to hear you out.

When one ever thinks about electrical engineering, which is very very rare for most people, the only person who is vaguely associated with the field is Thomas Alva Edison – a great inventor and scientist himself. He invented the first long-lasting incandescent light bulb, the motion picture camera and many other things. But the story of Nikola Tesla is perhaps the story of electrical engineering itself.

The work of an electrical engineer seems almost mundane. It certainly isn’t glamorous, is thankless, slightly esoteric and definitely unnoticed. After all, electricity cannot be seen right? One takes for granted the fact that at the flip of a switch, the lights go on, water is heated, computers are booted and videos uploaded. While one is willing to discuss the i7 processor, the latest android OS and Google +, one does not really feel the need to discuss the movement of electrons through a wire. And one does not really need to.

For most people, the only time electricity is discussed is either when the bill is too high, or when there isn’t any electricity at all. Perhaps our unlucky cousins from the rural areas of Maharashtra appreciate the 8 hours of intermittent electricity they get a lot more than the denizens of the island city, where the power rarely goes out.

Nothing we do today would be possible without the immense contribution of this eccentric Serbian who was born on this day in 1856. Calling him a genius would probably be doing a disservice to him, especially when customer representatives at any apple store call themselves that.

When Tesla arrived in the US in 1884, he started working for Thomas Edison. Supposedly offered $50,000 if he made Edison’s DC generators more efficient, he was allegedly denied the amount with Edison telling Tesla that he did not understand “American Humor”. If this were true, one would probably not be unfair in calling Edison a dick.

What is true is that Tesla soon quit Edison’s company and started his own company and constructed the first brushless AC induction motor. To someone who does not understand the significance of this invention, this is the electrical engineering equivalent of founding Google.

Not content with this, he worked with George Westinghouse to popularize poly-phase AC systems which won the “War of the Currents” against Edison’s own DC system. Again, to put this in perspective, this is essentially the equivalent of replacing the postal system with the internet AND wireless mobile systems.

Edison did much to discredit the AC system but eventually had to cave in to higher demand and gave up his DC technology. But Tesla was beyond caring at this point. He had latched on to more revolutionary ideas. He first demonstrated the possibility of wireless power transmission way back in 1893. Scientists are still working to make this commercially viable. He demonstrated wireless radio communication a year after that and his Tesla coils helped him study x-rays when they were still known as Rontgen Rays.

Like all great men, he was unable to digest the fact that the world could not keep up with him. He established principles for radar, wrote about an ocean thermal energy system and obtained his last patent which was for a Vertical Take-Off and Landing aircraft. Quite simply put, he was way ahead of his time. Did I mention the fact that he was fluent in eight languages?

For a man who has given much to the world and modern science, the only memory people seem to have of Tesla is as the unit of magnetic induction. His ideas grew even more eccentric, with his criticism of Einstein’s theory of relativity, plans for a death-ray and a dynamic theory of gravity – which was never published.

He stayed as a recluse in a New York hotel for the last 10 years of his life and undoubtedly became a bit senile. A sufferer of OCD and prone to strange visions, he died alone of heart failure in 1943.

For someone who practically invented the electrical industry on his own, history has not been kind to Tesla. He is scarcely remembered by a world that owes him much. But for those who do know about him and his work, he will always be a hero and remain a continuing source of inspiration.

While the representative from the MNS says, “Maria is convicted for a heinous crime and we will not allow her to work at any cost”, the Shiv Sena says, “People with a criminal background come out of the jail and become stars in television shows”. This of course coming from two parties which have never thought twice about fielding candidates who have criminal records and convictions. Apparently, you need an “untainted” record to work in television but can be a career criminal for the simple task of running a state.

And so the parties try to dictate terms to producers like Ram Gopal Varma about whom he chooses to cast in his movies. If every convicted criminal were to be prevented from working after serving a sentence, at least the Lok Sabha would have fewer scams to worry about.

The important issue that is raised here is, when does a criminal completely pay off his debt to society? Susairaj, was convicted not for murder but for destruction of evidence was sentenced to three years. She has already been jailed for that period of time and has been let go. In the eyes of the law, it is immaterial how grisly a crime and how much publicity it garners. The fact remains that an eminent member of the judiciary, which is one of the last respectable institutions in India, decided that her crime merited a certain sentence and delivered the said judgement.

But it is never that simple. As if one judgement is not enough, a convicted criminal is judged by every single person he comes in contact with. They find it difficult to get employment, to rejoin society as they left it and are subject to prejudice.

Some may say that they ought to have thought about it before they broke the law but the question is, is it really society to whom criminals owe a debt? To some extent, a punishment can be viewed as a surety that criminals offer in exchange for being reintegrated into society. But is it so simple?

Susairaj will soon pass out of public consciousness and so will the murder of Neeraj Grover but wherever she goes, the fact that Maria was part of something horrific might probably never let her be at peace with herself. The debt to yourself is surely one that can never be repaid in full.

But when I mention the Gujarat riots of 2002, they are offended. They think I am deliberately trying to provoke them. And it is this collective myopia that worries me.

It does not matter what the causes were, but the very fact that the massacre of hundreds of Muslims (293 Hindus were also killed), was carried out with the tacit approval of the very man who is elected to protect and serve the citizens is repugnant. With the news that the documents pertaining to the riots were destroyed, in “accordance with government procedure”,  my opinion of Mr. Modi could not sink further.

Yet, think about the roads, the industry, the commerce in Gujarat! What a champion for Hinduism Narendra Modi is! He is an inspiration. Chetan Bhagat praises him and his fans go crazy about Modi. Such are the people who are given the freedom to think for themselves and indeed, such is India where petty crime is usually overlooked and occasionally, so is murder.

The fact that a woman driving a vehicle can be news is surprising but for the women of Saudi Arabia, every woman needs an inspiration like Shameem Pathan. But in their case, it is not just society’s disapproval that they have to overcome, they have to change the law.

In what is probably the worst country in the world for women’s rights, driving is proscribed by the law. Women may only venture out in the company of men and there are numerous other laws which all vary in their idiocy. Perhaps the most senseless fatwa issued by a cleric was about “Breast Milk Sons“, which aims to reduce contact between women and unknown men by feeding them breast milk so that they are bound forever as mother and son. Apparently there is some disagreement among clerics about whether the milk can be fed from a bottle or has to be drunk directly from the breast. (Yes I am being completely serious here.)

The women in Saudi Arabia declared 17th June as the date they would start driving. This came after a gutsy Manal al-Sharif drove around in a car. She was arrested and jailed for 10 days. All for driving a car.

In the face an oppressive patriarchal society that encourages the treatment of women as property, I hope there are enough Shameem Pathans among the women of Saudi Arabia who can help overturn these medieval laws. Whatever the case, I hope these women get their right to drive because ironic as it may seem, by defying the law, the women have proved that at least they have balls. Over to you men.

Minister for de-addiction (yes, I am still amazed that such a position exists) Mr. Shivaji Moghe seems to have pushed the legistlation through. The state’s Chief Minister Mr. Prithviraj Chavan apparently says that this is not an attempt at moral policing and that liquor consumption stresses the health system and destroys families.

In a time when every decision is politically and not altruistically motivated, I wonder who exactly this decision is meant to appease.

While I agree that rules in India don’t mean anything and that anyone who wants liquor will get it, on principle I feel insulted. By all means issue warnings against alcohol consumption and campaign against it but please do not presume to tell us what we should do. Respect for freedom of choice is not one of Indian politician’s strong points as this law clearly demonstrates.

Well I suppose I feel worse for the residents of Mizoram and Gujarat who can’t drink irrespective of what age they are. In this case, I suppose the governments of those states can surely take lessons in maturity from Mr. Chavan and co.