『Let's think : By Dr.King, Swami Satyapriya』のカバーアート

Let's think : By Dr.King, Swami Satyapriya

Let's think : By Dr.King, Swami Satyapriya

著者： Dr.King Swami Satyapriya
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Explore science, philosophy, and spirituality for a deeper life. Get motivational insights and healthy thoughts for purposeful, better living.(C) Dr. King スピリチュアリティ ヒンズー教 哲学 社会科学 衛生・健康的な生活
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  • [English] Meditation – a Science or merely a faith-based practice?

    [English] Meditation – a Science or merely a faith-based practice?
    2026/08/22
    [Preview books] [Borrow books] [Pause] When I was a little boy, I regularly practiced something without knowing exactly what it was. The final experience that came from that practice drew me toward it, and I continued doing it for a long time.It was only after I grew up and was exposed to many things that I understood that what I had been doing was a form of meditation, and that experience which had drawn me toward it was what is called 'Samadhi'. You can meditate by reading some book or by undergoing meditation training. You may also have several experiences. But, sometimes, you encounter certain questions – "Was this experience inspired by some belief, or was it the natural consequence of a particular practice? Is it possible for someone who has no formal understanding of meditation to have a similar experience? Is the experience of meditation the result of ideas that you have created and imposed upon yourself? Or is it independent of all of these?" and so on.Looking at my childhood experience, it becomes clear that it was independent of any belief or mental background. At that time, I was completely innocent, free from prejudice, and completely ignorant about meditation.Therefore, whatever a person's mental background may be, I feel that this happens naturally to anyone who practices this.What exactly is meditation?Today we see many forms of meditation. But here, I would like to limit myself only to what is described in ancient Indian texts such as the Upanishads, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, or the Buddhist Tipitaka.Meditation is a way of gradually calming the mind and reaching a state of complete tranquility. The state that one enters at the culmination of that tranquility is called 'Samadhi'.The Upanishads, such as the Mandukya Upanishad, describe that final state as follows:"It is a state in which there is neither awareness of external events nor internal mental activity such as thoughts and dreams. That does not mean that it is an unconscious, inert state. There is perception, but that perception is beyond the affairs of the worldly realm. It is the perception of ultimate reality."The Buddhist Tipitakas also describe this as "a process of progressively narrowing mental attention until one reaches a state in which there is neither perception nor non-perception." On the surface, this may seem somewhat contradictory. But they are referring to a state that is beyond the scope of worldly perception, which they call 'lokuttara'. The Tipitakas speak about several milestones encountered on this journey, which are called 'jhaanaas'.Patanjali also speaks about a similar process, in which the mind is focused on an object for a prolonged period of time. Patanjali speaks about four stages that one passes through before reaching the final Samadhi, or the state of complete tranquility. At each of these stages, mental activities gradually decrease and eventually become almost zero.What happens after passing through these stages?The Upanishads speak about a final realization of becoming one with the whole of existence. They say that the diversity we normally perceive is a creation of the mind, and that there is only one unified existence.The Tipitakas avoid speaking about this final state because it is beyond the worldly realm and beyond words. The ultimate goal of the Tipitakas is to emerge from the mental games that give us a mistaken conception of reality.Patanjali too speaks about becoming free from the delusion created by mental activities. This freedom enables one to see things as they really are.All of this fits neatly into one important concept:"The perception of diversity is a creation of the mind, and when the mind becomes completely peaceful, a unified perspective emerges."What does science say about this process of meditation and its final state? Is this entirely a phenomenon of the brain? Through meditation, are you pushing your brain into a stage where it begins to function in a completely different way?Before we arrive at any such conclusion, let us understand exactly what happens at the different stages of meditation.Buddhist meditation practices impose strict rules of conduct even before one begins meditation. This is called the Eightfold Path; Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Concentration, and Right Samadhi. The first six of these rules prepare a person mentally for the journey ahead.The ten components of Patanjali's Yamas and Niyamas correspond, for the most part, to these six rules.In neurological terms, these six rules help reduce the excessive neuronal agitation or the sequence of surges in brain activity that occur in an uncontrolled brain. This is often regarded as the main benefit of meditation, namely stress relief. But this alone is not sufficient to reach the final state of a completely tranquil mind.To reach that stage, one must have the ability to continuously narrow one's attention. The Buddhists ...
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  • [English] Do not Miss This Golden Opportunity!

    [English] Do not Miss This Golden Opportunity!
    2026/08/15
    [Preview books] [Borrow books] [Pause] In the previous episode, we discussed that the ancient Indians were not completely opposed to the enjoyment of pleasures. What they said was only that pleasures should be enjoyed with restraint. What they prohibited was licentiousness that could harm the individual as well as cause problems for society.So, couldn't a person simply keep taking one birth after another? One could go on experiencing the world and living one's life, and that too in a good, disciplined manner. If that is so, why should one worry about the realization of the ultimate truth and liberation?Yes, at least in theory, this is possible. But does everything really happen that way? Rebirth is a strong belief found in most religions of the East. Today, the major religions of the world, Christianity and Islam, do not accept rebirth. But it is probably true that, in the ancient world, almost all religions widely accepted the idea of rebirth.Who could have greater authority to speak about rebirth than the Lord of Death himself? In an ancient Indian text, the Katha Upanishad, the Lord of Death himself speaks extensively about this subject.Today's talk is based on this Upanishad.The Upanishad says that when you become engrossed in sensual pleasures, there is a possibility that you may fall into an inescapable trap. You may not always be able to protect yourself from it. You may get caught in a whirlpool of uncontrolled enjoyment and completely lose your way.So what if one has lost one's way? There will always be another birth in which one can correct one's mistakes, won't there?Unfortunately, it is not that simple.There is no guarantee that you will be born as a human being again. For example, if you are reborn as an animal, an insect, or a plant, you may not have the intellectual maturity in that birth to correct your mistakes. In such forms, you are driven merely by instincts. Those instincts ensure your survival, but not your further evolution.Can't one be reborn as an even higher form of life?That is possible too. Depending on your accumulated karma, you may be reborn as a being in the realm of the ancestors, as a deity in heaven, or even as a fully evolved being in Brahmaloka.But the Upanishad makes some interesting observations here. It says:If you are born in the realm of the ancestors, you get only a vague glimpse of the ultimate truth. It is like seeing something in a dream. The reason is that these departed beings have such a deep attachment to their previous life that they are unable to free themselves completely.Even if you are born as a deity, your vision of the ultimate truth is like seeing your reflection in water. You get a glimpse of it. But the reflection lacks clarity because of impurities in the water and because of the ripples that may arise in the water. The reason is that deities generally have a greater inclination toward sensual pleasures and lack self-control.Fortunately, if you are born as a fully evolved being in Brahmaloka, you can certainly obtain the clearest vision of the ultimate truth, as clearly as you see light and shadow. But how many people can ever reach that level all at once?Only while existing as a human being can you see the ultimate truth reflected in your own intellect. It is like looking at your own reflection in a mirror.Yathā ādarśe tathā ātmani,Yathā svapne tathā pitṛloke,Yathā apsu pari iva dadṛśe tathā gandharvaloke,Chāyā ātapayoḥ iva Brahmaloke.— Katha Upanishad 2.3.5.You Can Achieve It in This Very Life!Many religions promise you that you will have a better life after you die. But this Upanishad says that it is possible to realize the ultimate truth in this very life!Interestingly, the Upanishad says that there is something which neither the ancestors nor the deities can accomplish, but which you, and you alone, can accomplish while you are born as a human being. Therefore, it advises you not to miss this great opportunity.It says that the ultimate truth can be reflected in your own intellect; you can see it as though you were looking at it in a mirror.When that happens, you do not transform into something new. Instead, you merely move aside the false veil that conceals reality. Once that veil is removed, reality reveals itself on its own.When you stand before a mirror, you see yourself as you really are. There is no easier way to see yourself than that. What you see may not actually be you; but it is the reflection that comes closest to being you.But, have you noticed one thing?If you want to see your own reflection in a mirror, the mirror must be clean, without any stains or dirt. A dirty mirror can show you only a distorted reflection of yourself.Therefore, your first step is to clean the mirror. And you must continue to keep it clean at all times. That is the process of yoga or meditation.You, who have been born as a human being, have now received a great opportunity. Don't miss it. Strive for ...
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  • [English] Beyond Linear Pooling: Building a Healthier Subscription Model

    [English] Beyond Linear Pooling: Building a Healthier Subscription Model
    2026/08/10
    [Preview books] [Borrow books] [Pause] Subscription platforms have transformed the way we consume books, music, audiobooks, and other digital content. For a single monthly fee, subscribers gain access to vast libraries, while creators share a common revenue pool based on how much their work is consumed.The subscription model has been a remarkable success. Yet one important part of it has remained almost unchanged: the mathematics used to divide that common pool. Most platforms still use a simple linear model. Every additional page read or minute-listened, carries exactly the same value, no matter how dominant a creator has already become. At first glance this appears perfectly fair. In reality, it steadily shapes the behaviour of the entire system.When rewards continue to grow indefinitely in direct proportion to volume, a finite revenue pool naturally becomes increasingly concentrated. Content designed for rapid production or maximum engagement gains an ever-growing advantage, while creators producing labour-intensive works find it progressively harder to compete. Readers, in turn, may gradually discover that the diversity which originally attracted them to the platform is becoming narrower.The problem is not the subscription model itself.The problem is assuming that rewards must always grow in a perfectly straight line.That assumption is simply a design choice.A Different Mathematical Approach.Instead of assigning every read exactly the same weight forever, imagine applying a smooth nonlinear curve before calculating each creator's share of the subscription pool.Under this approach, additional readership still increases an author's earnings, but each successive increase contributes slightly less than the previous one. Popular creators continue to earn the most because they still attract the largest audiences. The difference is that extreme dominance no longer expands indefinitely within a fixed revenue pool.The proposal does not increase or decrease the size of the subscription pool. It changes only the way that fixed pool is divided.Nor does it depend on any particular mathematical function. A logarithmic curve is one possible illustration. A power function or many other nonlinear curves could achieve the same objective with different degrees of redistribution. The exact curve can be chosen to suit the goals of the platform.The sharing curve need not be fixed permanently either. If several curves are available, the platform could select an appropriate curve according to the variability of payouts in recent quarters, for example using the standard deviation of the payout distribution. This would allow the system to adapt to changing characteristics of the subscription pool without requiring a history to be maintained for individual authors.The curve could also have a defined knee. Up to that point, the relationship between readership and payout could remain linear, while beyond it the curve could become nonlinear. This would preserve the simplicity and predictability of linear sharing for the normal range while preventing extreme concentrations of consumption from producing disproportionately large payouts.Why does it matter?A nonlinear model changes incentives without changing the subscription business itself.It continues to reward success while allowing a broader range of creators to participate meaningfully in the shared pool. It encourages catalogue diversity without penalizing popularity. It also reduces the economic incentive for extreme concentration because each additional unit of consumption contributes a little less than the one before it.Most importantly, the platform still distributes exactly the same total amount of subscription revenue. Only the proportions change.The Mathematics.The implementation is surprisingly simple.First, transform each creator's total readership using a chosen nonlinear function. Then add those transformed values together to obtain a new adjusted total.Each creator's payout is then calculated as:Author Payout = Total Subscription Pool × (Author's Curved Score ÷ Total Curved Score of All Authors).This normalization step ensures that the entire subscription fund is distributed exactly as before. Only the shares are recalculated.The additional refinements described above need not require major changes to the platform's bookkeeping. The curve selection and the knee can be implemented as mathematical parameters using aggregate pool data; there is no need to maintain an elaborate historical record for every individual author.A Simple Illustration.Suppose a platform has a subscription pool of $1,000 shared among three creators.- Author A: 1,000,000 reads.- Author B: 1,000 reads.- Author C: 100 reads.Under today's linear model, Author A, receives almost the entire pool while the remaining creators receive only a tiny fraction.Now apply a logarithmic curve—not because it is necessarily the best choice, but simply to illustrate the principle.Author...
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