Dhanyosmi

Not the non-existent

The 129th Sukta of the 10th Mandala of Rg Ved, popularly known as the Nasadiya Sukta, is concerned with the Cosmos and the origins of the Universe and begins thus:

नासदासीन् नो सदासीत् तदानीं नासीद् रजो नो व्योमापरो यत्

किमावरीवः कुह कस्य शर्मन्नम्भः किमासीद् गहनं गभीरम्

"Then was neither being nor non-being; there was no realm of air nor sky beyond. What covered it, and where? what sheltered it? Was water there, unfathomed depth of water?"

Though not so profound, I face my own questions too.

I have learnt the how of various things thanks to the westernized education that I received in India as a student & the western corporate form of business that I have been exposed to as a worker. But not the why.

I guess the answer lies for me in my own heritage - the Indian mythologies & philosophies and the traditional approaches to science, spirituality & society in India that is based more on introspection than skepticism. I want to arm myself with both the Western skepticism and the Indian introspection to figure out the whys of my world, if not the world.

And thus I chose the first two words of the Nasadiya Sukta (from which it derives its name) - ná ásat, "not the non-existent" - as the immediate aspect that I wanted to focus on, the realm of the non-existent can come later. And thus the name of my first personal domain on the internet (that I have not had for more than a decade now).

While I go about setting up my website, please excuse its plebeian look and do feel free to read my thoughts on my SFH Blog.

About Prem

Who am I? That's a very profound philosophical question at one level. The answer to which I have not yet found. But considering the question in its ordinary perspective, let me attempt. This too is difficult since its trying to hit a moving target. I am constantly innovating myself. May be thats me?

Let me try to tell about myself in a manner that could interest you (I do hope). I am a geek who tries to keep abreast of the latest scientific & technological advancements as much as possible (theres far too much). I am thinker who tries to find uses for all the new findings & inventions. I am a problem solver who tries to think holistically & laterally. I am an iconoclast in the sense that I do not fear going down the untrodden path or even creating my own. I am a tinkerer in the sense that I try to do mash ups of concepts from across various fields to achieve a purpose. I am connector who likes to meet & greet new people from various backgrounds with various fields of interest and then make connections among them. I share whatever I learn. I curate everything that interests me.