Flawless

Sometimes I think about the geniuses the world has left behind for the future generations. The people with vast knowledge in their subject had unselfishly passed on their knowledge to the world for greater good. I am not into technology.I feel it has made mankind very lazy and the illusion of escalating us to two steps ahead in reality has dragged us one step down. I should not talk about technology being an engineering graduate from one of the elite colleges of the country and choosing to do so. But my concern is  about the style and path which we choose for living, a happy living.Way back, in around 400 BC, we were introduced to the great man Socrates. A man who gave us the idea to design our path of life. He was the first man to enlighten mankind and showed us an altogether different paths to salvation. His disciple Plato, had written all the teachings and preaching of Socrates in the form of a dialogue. One of his theories, the famous one,'' Allegory of the cave'' when I read about it, I was moved and confused. When I started to wallow in the depth of the thoughts, I was frightened. What if whatever happening is a lie or a dream? This thought occurred to me once when I was a child because there were some instances when I could not differentiate between a the real and dream world. Even now rarely I feel that. I was around ten years old I guess and I told my friend about my thought and he didn't understand what I was talking about. I asked another of my friend, he told me that I have become mad, and just told me that if we are awake we cannot dream. But when I read about this deeper, I could see its uses all around me.The super blockbuster hit movie '' the matrix'' is based on this philosophy mainly and also uses other philosophical ideas too. I was just wondering how could it attain so high rating and got listed to top 250 IMDb movies for some gimmicks. But I realized there was more to it.The high rating is for the soul of the movie. If ''philosophy of matrix'' is entered in Google so many texts appear explaining in detail about many philosophical ideas which are related to  in the movie.

An example, I can think about is in the caste system in India. Earlier people always remained cordoned  in the ambit of caste. They were not allowed to change any rules like, changing religion or marrying other caste people. They were in a shell and that shell meant the world to them. Just like the frog in the well saying. In a detail analysis and thought of the theory, it is said that, the longer you are in the cave, it becomes difficult to accept the reality. Our ancestors have been so long in the caste feelings and rituals that they don't wish  to come out of it. In few orthodox families, the daily practices are never to be changed. they think and believe it is the best thing and till their last breath they follow those routines. Old people don't want to leave their villages and they want to live and die in their ancestral homes. When a child has to leave home for the sake of study or work, they find it really difficult to cope up with situation outside but they cope up with time. Because they have been taken out of their shell earlier. There are so many many examples which fit this theory.

The point of my rambling is simple.I am just wondering how could few people, in fact great people back in 400 BC postulate things which are still valid now? The philosophies of Socrates, Plato, Epicurus and many others, their postulates and theories are flawless and impeccable. Their analysis would have been surely on people of Greece which also comprised Italy. But researching on a small sample people and generalizing it to the world unknown about other population and their behavior.Socrates tells that, the best philosophical advice is given by people who are working and are not much educated.So if that logic is true,  may be in some other parts of the world, people were already following those principles. So many years have passed and changes in Evolution too but  the basic nature of human being has been the same and which is the only reason these ideas are flawless. Same goes with few of the religions like Buddhism which are a path to life than a religion. With time many emotional factors were added to the human beings, and slowly other philosophers like Schopenhauer, Nietzsche came into light but the basics of philosophy by the first teachers is so subtle and important that we cant neglect the ideas.