Dogs and Women: Not allowed
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Classical conditioning (also known as Pavlovian or respondent conditioning) is a learning process in which an innate response to a potent stimulus comes to be elicited in response to a previously neutral stimulus; this is achieved by repeated pairings of the neutral stimulus with the potent. God!
This smart guy Ivan Pavlov rang a bell(conditional stimulus) in front of his dog before giving him food(unconditional stimulus). He repeated this over and over again. And one day he rang the bell but didn't present the food, the dog still salivated.
I strongly believe that is the case with most of our superstitions and rituals. We know what is to be done but don't really know why it is to be done. Multiple events need to happen in conjunction for a response. Since we only know one of those(the conditional stimulus) we end up salivating like the dog without the food.
You have an emotional self and a rational self. Their intersection is called the wise self. Our emotions and rationales are both biased due to excessive conditioning. We are capable of making correct decisions if only we feed our minds with the required information. We all need to ask more questions to make informed decisions.
I have written this poem not just against the practice of not letting women into temples while they are on their periods. I am writing this commenting at the practice of jumping to answers without knowing the question, calling things right and wrong without listening to opinions, accepting and rejecting rituals without asking the reasons. Indian culture has been the most liberated cultures. People who feel Indian culture is closed and skipped the idea of evolution, need to visit ancient temples of Hampi to understand the roots we actually believe in. You see warriors, dancers, musicians, animals, women, and Gods on the same wall. It struck me first as an anomaly. It wasn't. Anomaly was the conditioning of my mind. Gods and followers, humans and animals, men and women, complete each other. And together, we complete the universe. Indian culture not only accepts and understands that fact but celebrates and announces at its core, on the walls of temples. It's never too late to revisit the lost fundamentals.
Script: Roman देवनागरी
This smart guy Ivan Pavlov rang a bell(conditional stimulus) in front of his dog before giving him food(unconditional stimulus). He repeated this over and over again. And one day he rang the bell but didn't present the food, the dog still salivated.
I strongly believe that is the case with most of our superstitions and rituals. We know what is to be done but don't really know why it is to be done. Multiple events need to happen in conjunction for a response. Since we only know one of those(the conditional stimulus) we end up salivating like the dog without the food.
You have an emotional self and a rational self. Their intersection is called the wise self. Our emotions and rationales are both biased due to excessive conditioning. We are capable of making correct decisions if only we feed our minds with the required information. We all need to ask more questions to make informed decisions.
I have written this poem not just against the practice of not letting women into temples while they are on their periods. I am writing this commenting at the practice of jumping to answers without knowing the question, calling things right and wrong without listening to opinions, accepting and rejecting rituals without asking the reasons. Indian culture has been the most liberated cultures. People who feel Indian culture is closed and skipped the idea of evolution, need to visit ancient temples of Hampi to understand the roots we actually believe in. You see warriors, dancers, musicians, animals, women, and Gods on the same wall. It struck me first as an anomaly. It wasn't. Anomaly was the conditioning of my mind. Gods and followers, humans and animals, men and women, complete each other. And together, we complete the universe. Indian culture not only accepts and understands that fact but celebrates and announces at its core, on the walls of temples. It's never too late to revisit the lost fundamentals.
Script: Roman देवनागरी
माँ आई कमरे में बिना दस्तक कर,
फेरा हाथ बेटी के मस्तक पर।
कहा आज तू सब काम त्यज,
कान्हा को भी मन ही में भज।
हज़ारों साल हो गए उस बात को,
प्रणाम आज के विज्ञान को।
नाचती कूदती चूमती अर्श को,
लाड़ली चली कान्हा के दर्श को।
पर समाज का सनातन धर्म से अजब मतभेज,
देवी का देवालय में प्रवेश निशेध।
गोपियाँ इंतज़ार में पत्थर हो गई,
कान्हा बिन मंदिर महज़ ईमारत हो गई।
"क्या" सबको है पता,
"क्यूँ" किसी ने पूछा नहीं।
देवी को दूर कर, पत्थर को पूजकर,
पुजारी आज पूछता है...
"क्यूँ" उसे कुछ मिला नहीं?
फेरा हाथ बेटी के मस्तक पर।
कहा आज तू सब काम त्यज,
कान्हा को भी मन ही में भज।
हज़ारों साल हो गए उस बात को,
प्रणाम आज के विज्ञान को।
नाचती कूदती चूमती अर्श को,
लाड़ली चली कान्हा के दर्श को।
पर समाज का सनातन धर्म से अजब मतभेज,
देवी का देवालय में प्रवेश निशेध।
गोपियाँ इंतज़ार में पत्थर हो गई,
कान्हा बिन मंदिर महज़ ईमारत हो गई।
"क्या" सबको है पता,
"क्यूँ" किसी ने पूछा नहीं।
देवी को दूर कर, पत्थर को पूजकर,
पुजारी आज पूछता है...
"क्यूँ" उसे कुछ मिला नहीं?
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| Achyutaraya Temple, Hampi |
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