12/31 in Porbandar

I went on an excursion today to Sandipani, a beautiful temple outside of town. For some reason, before I enter a temple, I like to walk around it first. Maybe it is a type of delayed gratification - savoring the experience.

Temple at Sandipani

On the back side of Sandipani temple is a small museum honoring the mathematical and scientific discoveries of ancient India. Supposedly they discovered the Pythagorean theorem centuries before the Greeks, as well as Pi and certain algebraic formulas. Maybe this is something only a math teacher can appreciate, but when I see a large poster explaining how to derive the quadratic formula from the quadratic equation (Bhashkaracharya in the 12th century), or how the coefficients of multiplying the binomial (a + b) to the second, third, fourth powers . . . relates to what we know of as Pascal's Triangle, there is such joy in my heart.

Some people live like this

boys on the beach at sunset

I have been thinking about my sleepless ramblings a few days ago in Ahmedabad, and I think I better understand now what I felt then - it is about the paradox of time and experience. At each moment so many realities exist within us simultaneously - what our senses are experiencing, what our mind is reflecting on, our interpretations, memories, aspirations. It is the nature of time and experience that each and every moment is unique. This is the only common element from moment to moment - how unique, and thus, special each moment is. So I wonder why it is that only some moments stand out. Our senses are always sensing, so maybe it is when our heart is open do we appreciate the moment at hand. And obviously it is not our heart; that is only a metaphor for something else. Love, connection, being present to experience that which is right before us, be it beautiful or painful. A connection which draws us outside of our self, or reminds us that there is so much more, that each one of us is so much more.

Moon rise on the harbor at sunset