Are computers spiritual ?

Spirituality is beyond mind. When you cease to have thoughts, you are said to be silent or spiritual. To achieve this state of mind (no mind) we have to just learn to observe or be 100% attentive. When we listen fully, we understand. The way it is to be understood. Some people say that in order for us to learn, there should be information in our mind that we can relate to. Not true. When you speak to the heart, it knows. Everything. It’s language is different. The heart doesn’t speak in words. It speaks between the silence of the words and that is a language beyond all our spoken languages. It’s called love. And it’s well understood by all of us. Speak with your heart, not with your mind, which is simply stating facts. Nobody wants facts nowadays, as its available on the internet. When facts are transformed  to something more interesting – the synopsis – the essence – it’s called Wisdom. This in plain language is simplicity.

The past is nothing but memory patterns. Inside the computer, we call it a RAM or ROM. RAM means that memory which can be wiped clean by cutting off the power to the machine. And ROM means that memory which is not erased when the power goes off. The computer just understands one language – machine language. The language of 1’s and 0’s. When the bits are arranged in a particular manner, we get what is called as instruction. This is an order to the computer to execute it and produce an output. All programming languages are converters, converting the language into a format that the machine can understand, which is machine language. Sometimes the bits are represented as symbols – 123, abc, alpha-beta-gamma etc. This is data. All computers act on data and converts them into information. Data is more pervasive as compared to instructions.

The processor inside a device pretty much decides the capability of what it can do. All processors have their own instruction set. This is nothing but a collection of instructions that are available. All these instructions are burned into patterns within the processor. Software is nothing but a certain sequence of these available instructions that act on data. Data is the objective reality or Prakriti. An instruction is a subjective way of interpreting that data. In short an instruction is like thought which at any point of time acts on data. The overall program of which this instruction is a part is like Consciousness. When thoughts and silence get together in a particular pattern it gives rise to Consciousness. Consciousness that watches itself is Awareness – or self aware, as the term is called. Thus a conscious program that knows about itself and modifies itself is said to be self aware. Although the awareness is qualitatively different from that of a human.

A browser that is made more powerful by loading extensions (and addons) is like a brain that has had a medicinal supplement to make it more powerful. Common programs like those which check the health of a machine are like those tablets (Ginseng, Brahmi) which promise to keep us fit. If you look at the CPU utilization of your machine, unless you are doing some heavy lifting, you will find that it’s quite low. The processor (brain) is not utilized optimally. Hence you have virtualization programs which stretches your processor. Our brain is not like a single CPU machine. You can scale up a CPU, but there is a limit to it. Scale out or machines connected in parallel is a more apt fit to our brain’s way of working. Very soon we will reach a point where a set of machines connected together will challenge the human brain capacity. We have 100 billion neurons, the collective power of which will be simulated by a network like internet. To top it all, we will equip it with software that acts like the brain.

According to Ray Kurzweil, (futurist) this feat may happen by 2030. Will they accept us as there creators ?  There is a wide open debate about this issue. As Artificial Intelligence programs proliferate, we will have machines that will have different personalities. It will be easy to change the personality of a machine. A new software is rooted into the machine and voila! it happens. As time goes by the machine will have lesser and lesser inputs from their human counterparts, in order to make a decision. Like we have software frameworks, we will have the rules that will govern a machine behaviour. We will have more leisure time to ourselves when machine’s kick-in. Already, most of the trades that happen on the big stock exchanges are algorithmic.  There are Auto-Pilot modes inside most of the aircrafts. Driverless cars are a reality. Robots inside nuclear facilities and underwater exercises are a known phenomena. Need I say more.

Will computers ever be spiritual ? If they do, we will have a new experience. Maybe those who have not made headway into their spiritual progress will be guided by machines. The possibilities are endless. We can just hope that these new beings, make this Earth and the remaining universe a better place to be. One machine’s experience will differ from it’s kin’s. Like we all are on different paths at different points in life, the machines will also be on different trajectories. Whether they will cross ours is a good question? But all roads lead us towards Rome (God)  In our quest for more, what we should not be missing out is the aim of life – perfection -  journey towards God. First there was the word; the word was with God; And the word was God. Will a machine see the poetry in this ? I hope one day they will. And their karma will intermingle with ours.Hearts made of Silicon is a possibility – don’t just rule it out.

To your imagination,

Guru30

Did you know, you are so special

Accept it. All that is happening around you and inside you. Open the doors to receiving. The number one reason why the Law of Attraction doesn’t seem to manifest is that you have not opened your heart to Divinity. We have a habit of clinging on to our thoughts or desires. Desire by itself is not bad, but attachment to it, is. All your desires may not get fulfilled, as the Divine has better plans for you. When you came into this world, the role that you would play was also scripted. Moving away from this, to a life run by arbitrary impulses will only bring unhappiness to you. Follow the Divine plan. If you don’t know, just ask Him. Everything that expresses the spark within you, is what you are cut out for. For example you may be a great musician, or you may be a great stock broker. Do only things that you love. You will automatically expand and be guided towards your mission.

Free will is good. But duty is above everything. Let not anything come between you and your love (your mission on Earth) You may take a rain check from time to time, but you will be driven towards your goal. Know that every moment this is happening. Like a fruit that ripens only when the time and conditions are right, your time is going to come. Have perseverance and faith in Him. You are not the one who is acting, but the state within you is pushing you. When this state (gunas) gets balanced by your own struggle, you will be cut out for prime time. And by that I mean happiness. No need to wait for it also. You can bypass everything and be happy now. Right in this moment. But you have to open your heart and shut those useless thoughts in your head.

This very life that you experience is subjective. But deep down there is an objective reality. The reality is called Prakriti (Nature) and your subjective self is Purusha (Soul). The soul observes the nature and relishes it. You are just a medium for it to enjoy. The internet itself is like Nature. There is so much stuff on it. But your (soul) attention makes all the difference. No matter you cannot consume the entire internet, but whatever you choose to pay attention to, you enjoy. Maybe it’s a Youtube video or maybe it’s a software that you downloaded. Your individual machines are experiencing it, not in the way that you do. But the fact is that some of the resources of your machine are consumed. Hence like we experience in our brain, the  computer  experiences the same in it’s CPU and memory. The quality of the experience is different. But it still its an experience.

Life is not complicated. In nature there are no contradictions or negations. It’s how we choose to view it that makes all the difference. The brain can be used for mathematical and logical  problems (say programming), but don’t take it further. Let it not run your day to day life, because this requires no effort. Whereas the brain expends effort in every activity. For it, the struggle is, what it thinks will lead to salvation. You don’t need emancipation, you are already emancipated. Just accept this fact. Move further into the present moment, knowing that you are cared for and being guided by Divine wisdom, which can never go wrong. Silence is golden and you are a sacred person. When the heart overflows with joy, the Silence hums a tune. Did you hear it ?

To your heart,

Guru 30

Information Theory and Consciousness

Information Theory by Claude Shannon is at the foundation of all our communication. It simply says that between a transmitter and a receiver, the noise in the channel (the medium of communication) the signal (original message) can get lost or altered. Imagine a crowded room where everyone is trying to speak. There is so much of commotion, that what you are trying to say may not reach your intended recipient. Hence the solution to this problem is either to have a strong transmitter (loud voice) or modulate the signal (your voice) with a high frequency carrier (in some other medium, like say a tape recorder). The first approach requires more power, while the second approach requires a carrier (in this case an external device). The signal at the receiving end will have to be demodulated (remove the carrier) and then just received as pure signal.

In real life also, this applies. Say, you are speaking to a person. Although you may have said ‘X’, the receiver may interpret it as ‘Y’, not because of noise outside, but right inside his head. The receiver may be thinking so many things and what you may be saying will get smudged in the perception of the receiver. This simply means that the signal gets altered because of the noise in the receiver’s head. One way to avoid this is to transmit the information when the receiver has a clear mind. Let’s assume that morning 9AM to 10 AM is the time that the receiver is having an unbiased mind. You can then chose to send your message during this period. Here you have used time as your carrier and it may have the effect that you may have intended.

This leads us to the importance of listening. When we listen, we have so many preconceived beliefs and thoughts that interfere with our perception, that sometime we may not be listening fully the way it should be. In order to be a 100% listener, we  have to let our consciousness do the job. You see – consciousness is a watcher of surroundings (including our thoughts). It does not judge or criticize. It simply observes. If our consciousness is free of distractions (ego) then we can clearly interpret the messages that come towards us. This in turn leads to learning. Yes, every message that the consciousness gathers is a message of growth and awareness. Further, this message interpreted in the right way can lead to pure joy, and in some cases, grief. Our emotions get triggered depending on the quality of the message. Now you see the message has triggered the reaction that it originally intended for the receiver.

This exactly is NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming). Feel as the subject feels. What the transmitter felt while delivering the information quanta, the same feeling the receiver feels. Now you can start addressing the problem as it is, rather than, as you had perceived it. Bring consciousness in, and let the ego stay out. Soon you will be a walking talking source of wisdom. All these thoughts that interfere with our listening skills are to be eliminated. Coming back to the theory of information by Claude Shannon, we have to see that the medium (our mindset at any point of time) is clear. Have a clear mind and receive the gifts of the Universe. Now I’m talking not just about situations or messages, but your wishes projected to the Universe. You see, the Universe simply echoes back your wishes if they are grounded in your consciousness. Let consciousness manifest your dreams. Make this world a better place to live for you and for everyone else.

Good Luck !

Guru30