Rand's Anthem

Chapter 11

I am. I think. I will.

My hands...My spirit...My sky...My forest...This earth of mine...

What must I say besides? These are the words. This is the answer.

I stand here on the summit of the moutain. I lift my head and I spread my arms. This, my body and spirit, this is the end of the quest. I wished to know the meaning of things. I am the meaning. I wished to find a warrant for being. I need no warrant for being, and no word of sanction upon my being. I am the warrant and sanction.

It is my eyes which see, and the sight of my eyes gives beauty to the earth. It is my ears which hear, and the hearing of my ears gives its song to the world. It is my mind which thinks, and the judgement of my mind is the only searchlight that can find the truth. It is my will that chooses, and the choice of my will is the only edict I must respect.

Many words have been granted me, and some are wise, and some are false, but only three are holy: "I will it!"

Whatever road I take, the guiding star is within me; the guiding star and the loadstone which point the way. They point in but one direction. They point to me.

I know not if this earth on which I stand is the core of the universe or if it is but a speck of dust lost in eternity. I know not and I care not. For I know what happiness is possible to me on earth. And my happiness needs no higher aim to vindicate it. My happiness is not the means to any end. It is the end. It is its own goal. It is its own purpose.

Neither am I the means to any end others may wish to accomplish. I am not a tool for their use. i am not a servant of their needs. I am not a bandage for their wounds. I am not a sacrifice for their altars.

I am neither foe nor friend to others, but such as each of them shall deserve of me. And to earn my love, they must do more than to have been born. I do not grant my love without reason, nor to any chance passer-by who may wish to claim it. I honor with my love. But honor is a thing to be earned.

And now I see the face of god, and I raise this god over the earth, this god whom men have sought since men came into being, this god who will grant them joy and peace and pride.

This god, this one word:

"I".

The ideals of collectivism

I shall merely point out that the slogan "Production for use and not for profit" is now accepted by most men as a common-place, desirable goal. If any intelligible meaning can be discerned in that slogan at all, what is it, if not the idea that the motive of a man's work must be the need of others, not his own need, desire or gain?

Compulsory labor conscription is now practiced or advocated in every country on earth. What is it based on, if not the idea that the state is best qualified to decide where a man can be useful to others, such usefulness being the only consideration, and that his own aims, desires or happiness should be ignored as of no importance?

"Social gains", "social aims", "social objectives" have become the daily bromides of our language. The necessity of a social justification for all activities and all existence is now taken for granted. There is no proposal outrageous enough but what its author can get a respectful hearing and approbation if he claims that in some undefined way it is for "the common good".

Those who want slavery should have the grace to name it by its proper name.

- Ayn Rand, 1946

Earthquake

The earthquake has been horrible. Ada Amjad went there with his team of surgeons and says it was a region of death. All he did was perform amputations of gangrene-infected body parts day and night for ten days non-stop, most of them hands and legs of little children before his team was replaced by a fresh one. He could not sleep for days after getting back.
How will these kids live? What will they do? Most have no parents, no families left.

It is now winter there and they are all still in tents.

We are not doing enough. The world is not doing enough.

Let it go

It is very difficult to let go. But it is often more important to do it...

The beauty of life is, while we cannot undo what is done, we can see it, understand it, learn from it and change so that every new moment is spent not in regret, guilt, fear or anger but in wisdom, understanding and love.

sunday chai

Ah! Sunday mornings are so relaxing. What better does one need than to wake up late, make yourself a nice big breakfast, play your favorite collection of dhamaka songs and log on to read your favorite paper from back home while drinking your hot and steaming tea? I keep thinking I'll miss these moments of relaxed solitude when I go back, but then the thought of Hadi Baksh's fresh parathas and chai quickly banish such thoughts from mind. And Amma's biryani. And Mami Zeena's kutti. And Mami Wadi's pallay jo pullau. And.....oh well.

Happy Ramadan

Friday, Oct 7, 2005
Gunmen attacked a mosque of the minority Muslim Ahmadiyya sect in the village of Mong in Pakistan's Punjab province during Friday prayers. Eight killed, 20 injured.

Ramadan Mubarak.
The Muslim holy month representing patience, tolerance and love.

Starting Out

Finally got around to it, creating my own blog.

Hmm, now that it's done suddenly all the thoughts I had about what I needed to write down are garbled. Wonder if that's normal...