Questions of philosophy vs religion are as old as the human ability to question. Today people wonder about the balance of power and reconciliation between science & religion. It’s a valid issue to think about, but to get a better handle on the subject, it might help to look at the relationship between religion and science’s great-grandfather, philosophy.

My friend Paul always puts interesting questions to me. After tackling truth, this time we were having a conversation about how I reconcile religion and philosophy from an Indian or Hindu perspective. Some interesting points came up, which I have not seen expressed often, so I thought I should share my thoughts here. Indians take much of our own way of thinking for granted, but the fact is, the relationship between religion and philosophy in India has always been quite unique when compared to the West.

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I started drawing more sketches very soon after my last session of pen drawings, within a few days in fact. I was in the mood. But after having looked at my last drawings, which were done with a fair amount of abandon, I started to think too much. The first drawing that followed (above) was stiff and over-done. Then I picked up another magazine for inspiration and tried again.

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Saying no nicely is a skill that serves you well in all things great and small. This weekend, we were sitting in our living rooom in the middle of the day, and there was an unexpected ring at the door. I opened it to see who it was. A smiling man with a coupon book in his hand gave me his quick pitch about free raffle coupons and something to do with water-purifyers. He was a pleasant enough fellow, he spoke well, and he was trained in all the subtle tricks of the trade. As he talked about the free coupon, he tore one out at the perforated edge in a seamless move while never looking down at his hands, and held it ready to offer to me. I listened quietly and then said no. I didn’t slam the door on his face or anything, I just thanked him but said we weren’t interested. He in turn thanked me for my time and that was that.

This sort of thing happens regularly in everyday life, there’s always someone trying to sell you something. It could be a product at your door, a project at work, an idea amongst friends. The selling never stops. You try to sell people on your ideas too. That’s the way we work. What gets us into trouble is that we are scared, or shy, or feel guilty to simply say no. This compulsion to agree with everyone and accept everything thrown at you is the cause of more troubles in life than any other single trait.

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