Security is mostly a superstition

Blind. Deaf. Muted. Can’t see. Can’t hear. Can’t speak. In the wisdom of that silence, Hellen Keller says, “security is mostly a superstition….”

How can it be true though, when from a saint to a sinner, from the boundaries of an ashram to an illicit hideout, everyone seeks security in some form?

Jobs.

Finances.

Relationships.

Existence.

Are you really ever safe from danger or harm?

Ah! I get it. We never really achieve security? We get better, maybe, that is, we may have more money today than say ten years ago, but it doesn’t mean we are secured about money.?

But is that a superstition?

Superstition means standing firm on a belief that may not be explainable by science.

Having deeply indulged in sciences over the better part of last four years, I can tell you that a scientist is never certain. When we are creating theory, our statements are always approximate with different degrees of certainty. When science is created, the question is not whether it is true or false but rather how likely it is to be true or false in that moment (from Richard P. Feynman).

Hellen Keller’s statement then implies that the quest for security to deliver security is unlikely to be backed by reality. Almost like… Seek But You Shall Not Find !

79.8% of our population in India is the majoritarian one (2011 Census of India). That group is encouraged to be insecure, that our country in some near future will be taken over by the minorities. That minority at 15.4% (2011 Census of India) is insecure as a result of the challenges they face because of their faith.?

No one paused to think — that in a battle of insecurity vs insecurity, who will win?

The only scientific plausibility here is still insecurity.?

Paulo Coelho wrote in his book, Pilgrimage, that the death of our dreams lies in our quest for certainties. We begin to think of ourselves as wise and fair and correct and end up asking very little from life. And in that quest for certainty, we never fight the Good Fight.

A saint was once invited to visit the court of the most powerful king of those times.

“I envy such a saintly man, who is content with so little,” said the ruler.

“I envy Your Majesty, who is content with even less that I,” responded the saint.

“How can you say such a thing, this entire country belongs to me?” – said the offended king.

“For precisely that reason. I have the music of the celestial spheres, I have the rivers and mountains of the whole world, I have the moon and the sun, because I have God in my soul. Your Majesty, on the other hand, has only this kingdom.”

The good fight is the fight of ones dreams. The way you would love to live is mostly burdened by the way you ought to live.?

Security overpowers freedom.

The truth is that we are afraid of fighting the good fight.?Really deeply in your heart you know that you threw the towel long back in the name of certainty. Now you are at best a pawn at the hands of those who promise certainty.

And that’s what Hellen Keller meant when she labelled this as superstition. Yours’ lies in another ones hands. The one giving it to you is in the same boat, like the king and his kingdom.

Cowardice provides the biggest security of all. A nice safety net. It also provides you with those moments where you think of your dead dreams that make it difficult to breath.?

You embrace them all in the name of security.?

Yet it ain’t coming sweetheart.

Might as well dare to live the dream.

“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.”

P.S. This blog is not called Creative U — Why would I do that ;)? It is Creative View to all of you who didn’t figure it out.

See you next Thursday!