So I (finally) finished reading Shantaram!!! It is a very long book, but well worth the time.
My favourite parts, besides Gregory David Robert’s incredible use of adjectives, is the philosophy of life that Khader Bhai, the Mafia don, shares with Lin. Khader Bhai calls it Resolution Theory, and I think it’s pretty similar to my own philosophy that I, for fun, labeled “Creativism”. While Resolution Theory relates good and evil to the tendency toward or away from complexity, I like to think of it (which is for sure inspired by books I’ve read even if I can’t remember which exact ones), as the tendency to be Creative or Destructive. (Click here to check out the post: creativism-a-philosophy-for-life)
“The whole universe is moving toward some ultimate complexity. This has been going on since the universe began, and physicists call it the tendency toward complexity. And… anything that kicks this along and helps it is good, and anything that hinders it is evil… And this final complexity… it can be called God or the Universal Spirit, or the Ultimate Complexity, as you please. For myself, there is no problem in calling it God. The whole universe is moving toward God, in a tendency toward the ultimate complexity that God is… In order to know about any act or intention or consequence, we must first ask two questions. One, what would happen if everyone did this thing? Two, would this help or hinder the movement toward complexity?’ p. 550-551.
And I think he makes a very good point when relating such philosophies to the various religious traditions:
“Every guru you meet and every teacher, every prophet and every philosopher should answer these two questions for you: What is an objective, universally acceptable definition of good and evil? And What is the relationship between consciousness and matter?... This is a test that you should apply to every man who tells you that he knows the meaning of life.” p. 708.
How do your beliefs perform in this test???
Photo Credits:
The creative fusion of photos and art is by: Gustavo Tomas Moreno. Check out more of his work on: www.yacophotographer.blogspot.com
More on Resolution Theory: https://julietbennett.com/2010/10/22/a-deeper-exploration-of-resolution-theory/
Hi,
I’ve also read Shantaram. And similar to you I discovered that the resolution theory is kind of my own way of thinking about the ways of life. Well, i have to admit that my own thoughts didnt were as exact as written in the book. For example I think I’m not intelligent enough to understand the relationship between consciousness and matter like it is written.
To refer to your question. I think that it is a way to rescue life as we know it if the universal objectiv understanding of good and evil would be known and understood by every living human.
Sry for eventual misswriting. English isnt my native language.
Sincerely,
Paul
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