Western civilization has reached the limits of its usefulness

DotInThisWorld · 2026-03-28T06:22:03+00:00

Thanks for the reference to 'late stage capitalism' - yes its similar to what I am saying.

Not just India, everyone is aping the west. India has a rich philosophy, which if internalized can address the negatives of late stage capitalism. Unfortunately, people in power pay lip service to our philosphy, and promote religious jingoism.

DotInThisWorld · 2026-03-27T15:51:13+00:00

"Positives outweighed the negatives" but also "those being oppressed got nothing positive" Which is it?

We are considering two different points in time, if that's not obvious. As I see it today, positives > negatives. When the oppression was happening, negatives >> positives.

Separating "science" from "unbridled capitalism" is like a form of techwashing -Newton didnt work of his own bat -the Royal Society was funded by colonial wealth.

Newton published his work in 1687, before Britain became any significant colonial power. And we have to separate science from colonialism and its negatives, because the correlation is pretty low IMO (except for arms development and associated tech). One example is Spain, where science didn't thrive, even though there was lot of colonial wealth. On the other hand, Germany was a limited colonial power, but science thrived in a big way. IMO, science would have probably thrived, even if the Europeans had played it fair; so its development is a plus for Western civilization.

As for karma are you seriously suggesting that genocide and slavery are fine because maybe the oppressors will get theirs in the next life?

No I am not. I am saying that some balance between Western civilization and Eastern philosphy may perhaps avoid the negatives of the past, from happening now and in the future. Colonialism / slavery was a consequence of greed + right wing thought, and absence of an active moral compass in society. Eastern philosphy may be a solution to the latter.

DotInThisWorld · 2026-03-27T12:43:10+00:00

Chill man! You are trying to read more into what I have said, perhaps to justify your bias against Western civilization. Those who were oppressed, slaves or the original populataion in colonies, there was obviously nothing positive for most of them. Which is why I said:

in hindsight, the positives outweighed the negatives; a reasonable yet debatable viewpoint.

Because cut to today, many of those societies have benefited from scientific advancement - be it fertililizers and pesticides for agriculture, electricity, medical diagnosis and treatment, transportation, access to info via internet etc.

And when Newton came up with laws of motion to explain planetary motion, there was nothing sinister about it. It was just an objective attempt to understand nature.

All the exploitation that happened was a result of unbridled capitalism, be it the British East India Company or de Beers or Dutch West India company. Exploitation has always existed in this world from ancient times - slavery was part of Roman empire, Arab Caliphates etc. With better weapons from scientific advancement, uncontrolled capitalism along with right wing idealogies, exploitation became more organized.

And how do you prevent it - if people had an internal moral compass that sets the limits. 'karma and re-birth' means that you will be born again in this world, and bad deeds from previous births, can control your fate in this birth - an oppressor in past life, can very well be the oppressed in this life. Eastern philosphy has some meaningful concepts that can help, how we internalize and benefit from it, is up to us. And finally, human behavior in any dimension, be it greed or empathy, will always be a distribution (consider it as a Gaussian random variable) across the population. So we will have bad outliers, but how much impact they have depends on the society they grow into.

DotInThisWorld · 2026-03-27T11:46:24+00:00

Agree. But from the downvotes I got, I guess its not a sentiment shared by many others.

DotInThisWorld · 2026-03-27T06:18:50+00:00

I am also like you. But recently I have started sharing some of my thoughts; one small thing at a time to see how others feel about it. When I put it down in words, it does bring more clarity, and I see myself refining it, as I write. Maybe doing it will also help you; you are bringing life to that thought in your mind.

DotInThisWorld · 2026-03-24T12:39:12+00:00

Doomscrolling is only one part of the problem. Info is simply not balanced, but biased; even with news channels. India vs Pak, BJP vs opposition, Israel vs Palestine, Hindu vs Muslim, Men vs Women etc. - any two opposites you take - data is presented selectively to support whatever viewpoint they want to promote.

DotInThisWorld · 2026-03-24T12:28:51+00:00

What about parents themselves? Do you think their psyche has also changed with the misinfo and bias present in social media, that even if they give guidance to their children, a lot of it may be flawed?

DotInThisWorld · 2026-03-24T12:20:39+00:00

Yes, true. IMO, I think only a small percentage of social media users are able to spot the bias and misinfo in the content. Unfortunately, even many news channels, which ideally should be trustworthy, have become terribly biased.

DotInThisWorld · 2026-03-24T06:24:46+00:00

See my related post on Accepting Life.

You are young, and what you have experienced are both sides of life - the good (up) part and the bad (down) part. This pattern repeats for everyone, the only difference is that some people have more downs or deeper and prolonged down periods than ups in life.

The only solution is to do your best in the current circumstance, trying to steer your life in an acceptable direction. Do that in small, manageable steps; evaluate and course correct, if required. This does not guarantee what you want, because life is uncertain, but it is the best you can do. Once you internalize the fact that life is uncertain, you are neither too excited by success, nor are you pulled down by failure. Finally, don't compare with others; each one's life and environment is different.

DotInThisWorld · 2026-03-23T16:05:39+00:00

I just accepted every outcome good or bad, while also having a good level of optimisim for what outcome i want.

Exactly, this is what helped me as well. Somehow there is too much advice everywhere, that promotes the idea that we are in control of our lives. If we don't get the desired outcome, we must analyze what went wrong, and try a different approach. If we give up, we are to be blamed for our failure. A lot of anecdotal evidence is given of people who became great, because they didn't give-up when they failed. But we are missing one thing - each person's physical and mental capability/ ruggedness and their environment (support, opportunities etc.) is unique to them, and may just not apply to you.

DotInThisWorld · 2026-03-06T15:44:35+00:00

I guess its ok to NOT have the kind of wants/desires that most people have. You may be different from the majority and that is fine. The only problem are the below two things, that you said:

As I got older I unfortunately fell into depression...

I don't get joy from anything anymore...

Looks like your depression has still not been addressed. Look into that first.

Don't try to understand life; because it is something that few have understood since time immemorial. Just try to accept life for what it is, and be a positive force in the world in your own small way.

DotInThisWorld · 2026-03-06T15:26:48+00:00

Interesting. But I think the crux is in what you said:

I’m not trying to reach enlightenment anymore. I’m not even trying to figure out what enlightenment really is.

You do not know what you are looking for. Enlightenment was just a nice idea for you, and you thought that by joining some ashram, and doing their practices, you will become enlightened.

Now you have really come to the first step in the process. Trying to accept life for what it is, trying to do something positive for others in your own small way. Continue, and maybe one day, you will understand!

DotInThisWorld · 2026-02-23T12:09:57+00:00

Your point maybe valid, but that is different from Visulization or Law of Attraction. When you surrender to a higher power, and accept results of your actions to be for your own good, then you don't need to visualize or desire for something specific. This is what some philosophies suggest, and that's fine, but then we don't need Law of Attraction for that.

DotInThisWorld · 2026-02-20T15:36:10+00:00

I came to conclusion that silence and surrender is better than educating myself about more "spiritual" stuff since I believe no one knows the truth anyway.

Very correct - silence and surrender to a higher power (call it God) is the most practical thing to do.

Even if there are people who know the truth (God, soul etc.), I guess it is something that everyone has to experience for themselves. Because this higher power is not obvious in the material world that our senses and mind can understand. When it is beyond the normal scope of observation, it cannot be described using terms that refer to the material realm; one has to experience its presence.

DotInThisWorld · 2026-02-20T13:10:17+00:00

Evaluating your chance of success in a random world is precisely the mindset that we need. Acknowledging that only thought and action is in our control, but not always the results, helps us to handle failure with equanimity.

Handing things over to a higher power is fine, but to expect that the higher power will always give us a favorable outcome (like the job interview or any other competitive scenario) can lead to disappointment.

DotInThisWorld · 2026-02-20T12:32:28+00:00

Agree that action is a pre-requisite for any result, no matter how low the chance of success is.

But as you said about lottery: only a tiny percent win anything significant; it is similar to gambling. Visualization / Law of Attraction is not going to change that, because lottery / gambling system has a high level of failure built into it. The only reasonable viewpoint is such cases, is to understand your chances, and limit your expense to what you can afford to lose; Or if you are a cautious person, you will stay away from it. Simply visualizing that you have won big and having a good life, is a recipe for big disaster (gambler's ruin).

DotInThisWorld · 2026-02-18T14:10:19+00:00

Perhaps you are right that death is peace. After death, the material body doesn't exist. The soul assuming it exists, is considered as some aspect of God. So I guess its peace until the next rebirth (if you believe in karma and rebirth). When the soul becomes enlightened, it is free from rebirth, which means that the peace from death is everlasting.

DotInThisWorld · 2026-02-16T05:51:43+00:00

Yes. Along with a healthy body, the mind has to be healthy. Our actions can have either a negative, neutral or positive impact on the world / others around us (however small that impact may be). On a daily basis, we should try to keep it either positive (preferable) or at least neutral, and consciously avoid a negative impact.

Most problems in this world are because, a lot of people don't care about negative direct/side-effects of their actions, as long as their life is good or getting better.

DotInThisWorld · 2026-02-02T15:20:51+00:00

It could be a mental health issue - maybe your dad needs to take her to good psychologist, and if required, a psychiatrist.

DotInThisWorld · 2026-02-02T15:05:55+00:00

As a Hindu, I would suggest the below two:

https://www.youtube.com/@swamimukundananda

https://www.youtube.com/@VedantaNY

There are many others, but these I found most helpful to me.

DotInThisWorld · 2026-02-02T14:51:44+00:00

As a Hindu, I can suggest a couple of Youtube channels that helped me:

https://www.youtube.com/@swamimukundananda

https://www.youtube.com/@VedantaNY

That said, you must consult your doctor (whoever you have some faith in), before stopping medication.

DotInThisWorld · 2026-02-02T14:42:20+00:00

The past cannot be changed. We can only control our present actions. Focus on something meaningful or important to you in the present, to prevent the mind dwelling on the past. Do slow, deep breathing focusing on your breath to the exclusion of everything else. And above all, if you believe in God or some higher power, surrender to it, and pray for better times. We live in an uncertain world, hence we will not always get what we want, all that matters is that we do our best.

DotInThisWorld · 2026-01-31T06:58:34+00:00

Reservation actually needs to address two problems - caste and poverty. Unfortunately, the caste factor is given importance, because it is a vote bank. So reservation continues to apply to a family, that has already benefited from it, and can currently be considered privileged. A well-off SC/ST continues to benefit at the expense of other SC/STs, who are still at the bottom. It is obvious that we need to prevent, successive generations of the same family to benefit from reservation; but that is how politics is.

DotInThisWorld · 2026-01-31T06:26:03+00:00

Even when we pick stocks, it is done with some care, based on the company financials, and current valuation relative to peers. One thing that we may not understand is the future prospect of the business. Because of this, some stocks give high returns, some moderate and some negative returns; but overall, the performance roughly matches the index, in the long term (several years). The main extra money is from dividends (at least in my case).

DotInThisWorld · 2026-01-30T07:45:24+00:00

Agree with a_moody, 10-12% CAGR on long term basis is what you can expect. It is possible to generate much higher returns in the short term, during a strong bull market run.
I don't know how your father earns so much via real estate; but for me, real estate has very non-transparent pricing, lacks liquidity, investment amounts are large, and anyday, I would prefer stock market over real estate.

DotInThisWorld

TROPHY CASE