In his revolutionary book, Thus Spake Zarathustra, the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche argued the case for a form of radical, heroic self-reliance centering around a figure that he called the Übermensch—the "Overman" or "Superman." He articulates some powerful and extremely virile ideas rooted in a radical departure from the bourgeois Christianity of his day, which he considered to be steeped in complacency. Instead, he argued for complete individualism to a radical degree.
Now these are some powerful ideas and, I will not deny, that they are profound in their implications. The concept of radical individualism is appealing—almost hypnotically so—especially in the context of the Classical Greek mythology and philosophy by which it is largely inspired. I am the first to submit that Nietzsche, in his works, presents us with some powerful ideas, inspiring us to question all that we usually take for granted and come up with new values, new ideas and a new mode of thinking as a departure from stale conventionalism.
In fact, Nietzsche's thinking goes to the extreme of advocating total atheism in the context of its credo of self-reliance and individualism. "God is dead," he declares, in the person of his fictional prophet, Zarathustra—which is to say, forget about Divine intervention—do it yourself and be the self-reliant individualist. Again, this thinking is especially appealing to the individualists among us, myself included, who aim to be fiercely independent and self-reliant in our attitude.
But, in the end, sooner or later, one has to confront reality. The reality that, as human beings, we are pretty insignificant creatures in the face of the forces of nature. Even the strongest and greatest among us is, ultimately, no match for the blind forces of nature, in their unbelievable, arbitrary destructive power.
Forget about total self-reliance—it is a myth. In the face of the blind forces of nature, what one truly discovers is how fragile the human condition really is and our need for one another and total dependence on the grace of God. As seen in the movie Deliverance, nature humbles us into acknowledging our need for God—to be unaware of that fact is to be self-deceived. The depth of our reliance upon God is absolute—we cannot exist apart from the will of God. This is the credo of Biblical Christianity and it is up to each of us to discover for ourselves whether or not it is factual.
All I can say is that, in the course of my life, at any given stage, any number of things could go wrong. The idea that any of us have any significant degree of control over our destinies is a myth. It is only too easy for some calamity to claim any of our lives, whether it happens to be a natural disaster like a Tsunami in south-east Asia; a man-made disaster like the flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, or a financial disaster like the recent collapse of Wall Street. Our lives are so fragile, in retrospect, that apart from Divine intervention, none of us really stands a chance! Our only hope is total reliance on God in the person of Jesus Christ—anything else is, ultimately, self-deception.
This may sound insensitive to someone who is facing financial ruin or the loss of a home caused by one of any number of calamities we face every day worldwide—but I have come to believe that it is the only reality in the end. Our lives as human beings are so fragile that apart from Divine intervention, none of us stands a chance! In that sense, self-reliance is, ultimately, a myth—no one can truly be totally self-reliant—we are, as human beings, dependent upon one another for our survival and co-existence and, ultimately, dependent on God for every breath of air that we breathe.
Horizon Cybermedia humbly and gratefully acknowledges our total dependence on the grace of God, in the person of Jesus Christ, for our continued existence as a new media company and we can only hope that our success is blessed by Divine agency. We invite you to share in our ongoing adventures across the world that we hope to continue to bring to you. Check http://www.explorationtheseries.com, our website, for the latest film in our Exploration series on the stunning vistas of the Wine Country of Sonoma County, Ca., and check back again soon for the next film in our series on the magnificent Christian monuments in the city of Calcutta, India.
Wishing you the very best,
Uday Gunjikar, Founder and CEO, Horizon Cybermedia, Inc.
The iconography of the Hindu culture and religion can be pretty bizarre and terrifying. Having grown up in India, I have found parts of it to be downright confusing, personally. Take, for example, the concept of the "third eye." In Hinduism, supposedly, the "third eye" is considered to be a symbol of clairvoyance, enlightenment or a higher level of consciousness or awareness. In the Vedic Indian tradition, ascetics were supposed to spend years of solitude in the wilderness meditating in silence, until they achieved this so-called "heightened consciousness" or "heightened awareness." In fact, some scholars read this as referring to the "mind-expanding" or "mind-altering" effect of hallucinogens and narcotics such as soma, whose use is referred to in the Hindu text, the Rig Veda.
In the Hindu tradition, as a matter of fact, many devoted Hindus wear a mark on the forehead called a tilak to symbolize the "third eye"—and this is especially true of weatherbeaten Hindu ascetics, who wear an especially pronounced tilak on the forehead. Here is an image of actor Harrison Ford wearing a tilak on his forehead in the 1984 film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, a film which, incidentally, distorts Indian culture to the point of caricaturing, parodying and demonizing it pretty severely.
Now these interpretations of the concept of the "third eye" may well be true—I don't consider myself to be a scholar of Sanskrit texts or an expert on the Hindu tradition. I guess my understanding of the culture and tradition of my homeland is, in that sense, pretty limited and superficial. Having been educated primarily in the western tradition, I guess my thinking is far more pragmatic. I personally see that as a good thing in some ways because it enables me to view the iconography of the culture with a more holistic, dispassionate eye rather than get lost in its symbolism, which is only too easy to do. This can lead to confusion and misinterpretation and even, ultimately, to confused hostility towards the culture and tradition.
So thinking about it pragmatically, what does the iconography of the "third eye" refer to? I was reflecting on this concept recently, along with the concept of the illusory and transient nature of reality as described in the epic poem, the Mahabharata, with an eye towards demythologizing and clarifying these ideas so as to try to get to the core of what they represent.
Then it occurred to me that in his epic poem, the Odyssey, Homer relates a sequence wherein Odysseus (or Ulysses, in Latin) lands upon an island in the course of his voyages and is taken hostage, along with many of his men, by a gigantic cannibalistic Cyclops named Polyphemus. They are only able to escape with their lives secretly by blinding the one-eyed creature—which is to say, rendering the creature completely blind, whereas previously, its vision was already pretty limited, as it had only one eye.
So it got me thinking—what was Homer talking about here, in the metaphorical language of mythology? What does it mean to have only one eye as opposed to two eyes? The answer is pretty obvious when you think about it—if you have only one eye, you have no depth perception. You see the world as flat and two-dimensional. We have depth perception because we have stereoscopic vision—two eyes. It is the difference between watching a movie on a flat screen and watching the same movie in 3D—a huge difference. So, with no eyes, we are completely blind and cannot see the world at all. With one eye, we see the world as two-dimensional. With a second eye, we can perceive three dimensions—we have depth perception.
So what about the metaphorical, figurative "third eye" of Hindu mythology? If we go strictly by the logic of progression, it must mean being able to see the world as four-dimensional—to being able to discern the fourth dimension, i.e. time—to be able to view the space-time continuum as a continuum.
Basically, it seems to me to refer to foresight and insight—not necessarily to clairvoyance but, rather, to the ability to see through and beyond the illusory surfaces of the world—to see beyond superficiality—and to discern hidden trends and deeper meaning. So maybe we're not talking about something as esoteric as clairvoyance or mysticism so much as a heightened ability for interpretive, deductive reasoning—to be able to discern clues and patterns in the world around us and, thereby, to extrapolate into the future and see beyond the immediacy of present experience (which is inherently illusory and transient).
In A. Conan Doyle's novel A Study in Scarlet, Sherlock Holmes is described as having an almost intuitive ability to arrive instantaneously at deductions based on the evidence presented to him—viewing a set of clues holistically and almost instantaneously arriving at a conclusion. His abilities are described as being almost clairvoyant or supernatural to the casual observer. In one sequence in the novel, Dr. Watson reads a newspaper article written, unknown to him, by Sherlock Holmes:
The writer claimed by a momentary expression, a twitch of a muscle or a glance of an eye, to fathom a man's inmost thoughts. Deceit, according to him, was an impossibility in the case of one trained to observation and analysis. His conclusions were as infallible as so many propositions of Euclid. So startling would his results appear to the uninitiated that until they learned the processes by which he had arrived at them they might well consider him as a necromancer.
"From a drop of water," said the writer, "a logician could infer the possibility of an Atlantic or a Niagara without having seen or heard of one or the other. So all life is a great chain, the nature of which is known whenever we are shown a single link of it. Like all other arts, the Science of Deduction and Analysis is one which can only be acquired by long and patient study nor is life long enough to allow any mortal to attain the highest possible perfection in it.
In the Rudolph Valentino film, The Young Rajah, in a dramatization of the battle of Kurukshetra, the film depicts Krishna applying a mark on Arjuna's forehead, which supposedly gives Arjuna the power of "second sight." This power is carried down to his descendant, Amos Judd (Valentino's character), who carries a birthmark on his forehead and possesses the uncanny ability to see into the future—to foresee events. This ties in neatly with Hindu tradition—the mark or "tilak" on the forehead worn by Hindus as a symbol or iconic representation of the mysterious "third eye."
But far from the esoteric, mystical connotations of this iconography, I think it is far more valuable and informative to think of this as representing simple foresight—being a visionary thinker—being able to see beyond surfaces and superficiality and discern hidden meaning from clues through interpretive, deductive reasoning. I think it makes much more sense, from a purely pragmatic standpoint, to interpret this iconography as such, especially in the context of the epic poem, the Mahabharata. Perhaps if more people in our world had foresight and the ability to see beyond surfaces and the immediate present, our world might be a happier place to live in and we might be wiser as individuals and collectively.
Perhaps this ability could be developed through training and exercise until it achieved the level of clarity and sophistication demonstrated by Sherlock Holmes in the literary works by Conan Doyle—approaching a level that, to the untutored eye, might appear to be mystical clairvoyance.
Horizon Cybermedia aims, as part of our agenda, to decipher and demythologize arcane ideas and iconography in order to make them comprehensible and pragmatic (though running the risk of oversimplification), in an attempt to promote understanding, acceptance and tolerance between cultures and populations. Hopefully, our efforts will yield positive results! Meanwhile, check out our website, http://www.explorationtheseries.com for our ongoing film series, Exploration with Uday Gunjikar. The current episode takes the viewer to the Wine Country of Sonoma, CA and future episodes will visit Calcutta, India and other locations worldwide!
Wishing you the very best,
Uday Gunjikar, Founder and CEO, Horizon Cybermedia, Inc.
Having grown up in India, the stories from the ancient Sanskrit epic, The Mahabharata, are a critical part of my cultural heritage. Immersed in its folklore from a very young age, the themes, characters and situations from the epic poem are as familiar to me as, perhaps, the myths and fables of the Homeric tradition would be to a child growing up in the Western world.
But, to be honest with you, it wasn't until I viewed the expanded, 5 hour film version of the epic directed by the acclaimed British stage and film personality, Peter Brook, renowned internationally for his brilliant productions of The Lord of the Flies based on the novel by William Golding and of Shakespeare's King Lear, that I gained a renewed appreciation for the true genius behind the Sanskrit literary work.
Filmed in lushly evocative sepia tones, with an international cast of highly talented players, the film is truly refreshing and eye-opening in its interpretation and rendition of the archaic Vedic Indian culture from which the epic stems. Brutally honest and resonant in its imagery, the film truly captures the zeitgeist of Vedic India, marked by its factional, territorial power struggles and its lofty, arcane philosophical ideas. All told, the film is a powerfully nihilistic, apocalyptic vision that is profoundly relevant to our present day 21st Century world. Like the Homeric myths, it stands the test of time and reveals itself to be a profoundly modern, relevant literary work.
Believed to have been composed around 3000 years ago by the poet Vyasa, the plot centers around the factional struggles of the rival clans, the Pandava and the Kaurava. It details the years of factional strife between the clans, culminating in the devastating war of Kurukshetra. Though the story is told in the elevated, hyperbolic, metaphorical style of epic and myth, historians and scholars of ancient Sanskrit literature believe that the war was actually fought in northern India between 1000 - 800 B.C.E. between rival factions of the Kuru clan.
The main themes of the work are the importance of Dharma, the Hindu concept of honor, duty, ethics and morality, along with its associations with social order; and the deceptive, illusory and transitory nature of reality as we experience it. It skillfully weaves mythical, historical and folklore elements into a vivid tapestry that forces one to challenge one's assumptions and prejudices and, indeed, to question the nature of the very fabric of reality itself. What echoes through my mind while viewing the film is the following quote from Albert Einstein:
Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.
and one wonders whether Einstein was in any way influenced by Sanskrit literature or the Mahabharata in his revolutionary thinking. Indeed, it is a fact that J. Robert Oppenheimer, the supervising scientist of the Manhattan project, cited the Mahabharata upon the first successful test of the atomic bomb, which underscores the profoundly modern and apocalyptic vision of the work.
The main plot begins, like many a James Bond novel, with a high stakes gambling match—a game of dice. In the course of the match, the Pandava clan lose all their possessions, including their own liberty, to the scheming, devious Kaurava, and are ultimately forced into an extended exile in the wilderness. The image is profoundly resonant with current events, as seen in recent election results in Iran and Afghanistan, which many believe to have been rigged or contrived. This event turns out to be a critical turning point in the story, as it marks the point where a friendly rivalry between the clans devolves into a bitter, divisive enmity.
The next thirteen years recount something of a cold war and arms race between the clans, as each side forges alliances and acquires so-called "sacred weapons" in the relentless buildup towards the apocalyptic final confrontation at Kurukshetra. Again, the work reveals itself to be profoundly modern and relevant when, in one haunting sequence, Arjuna, the elite warrior of the Pandava clan, confronts the Hindu deity Shiva and asks him for the secret of Pasupata—"the ultimate weapon that can destroy the world." It is chillingly evocative of the modern quest for superiority in nuclear arms in the course of the Cold War and beyond and, perhaps, is one of the themes evoked by Oppenheimer in his famous allusion to the epic. Even as Arjuna acquires the doomsday weapon from Shiva, Karna, his rival in the Kaurava clan, sets off to acquire it for himself as well, which he does by deceiving a hermit into revealing to him the "secret formula" of Pasupata—again, echoing Einstein's groundbreaking mass-energy equivalence equation, which was the harbinger of the atomic and nuclear age.
The final apocalyptic confrontation between the two factions at Kurukshetra begins with the armies confronting each other on the battlefield and establishing the ground-rules for war in accordance with the principles of Dharma, i.e. honor, duty and ethics. This event echoes such modern-day treaties as the Treaty of Versailles and the Geneva Conventions, which establish what qualifies as acceptable conduct during wartime, as opposed to what qualifies as a war crime or a violation of human rights.
As the two armies are about to charge into war, Arjuna, the elite Pandava archer and swordsman, suddenly loses confidence and collapses to his knees. Unable to bring himself to do battle with his own kinfolk and mentors, he confesses his fears to Krishna, his closest friend, confidante and charioteer. This is followed by one of the best known sequences in the epic, the Bhagavadgita, wherein Krishna gives Arjuna an extended motivational pep talk, which essentially summarizes the core concepts of the Hindu philosophy of the Vedic Age in India. Possibly the reason this sequence is so well known is that it was first dramatized on film in the Rudolph Valentino film, The Young Rajah, in which Valentino's character, Amos Judd, claims descent from Arjuna. The central theme in Krishna's discourse to Arjuna is that all of humanity is "born into illusion" and that illusion is all-pervasive in our all-too-brief lives. Therefore, in order to seek truth, one must achieve a form of stoic detachment in one's attitude and actions. These ideas are strikingly resonant of Buddhism, which developed much later in ancient India, though without the Buddhist emphasis on pacifism and non-violence. As such, Krishna's ideology is, contextually, a profoundly martial ethic.
Motivated and ready to launch into battle, Arjuna signals his attack, and the war proceeds. What ensues is a tragic recountal of the horrors of war, made all the more moving and profound by its emphasis on the human dimension of the conflict and on the kinship ties of the primary players. Every value of Dharma that the culture holds dear—every value of honor, duty and ethical conduct—is brutally violated and overturned in the course of warfare, so much so that at one stage, Yudhishthira, the leader of the Pandava clan, wonders out loud whether they are actually defending the ideals of Dharma through their actions in the course of the war. This theme is, again, profoundly resonant and relevant to modern times, echoing the ethical challenges we face during the course of the recent U.S. military incursions in Iraq and Afghanistan, and whether the ends justify the means in the course of warfare or anything else, for that matter.
The Pandava clan emerges victorious from the war, but the film retains its bleak, nihilistic, apocalyptic vision in its recountal of the ultimate demise of each of the core characters. This culminates with the honor-bound, dutiful Yudhishthira finally arriving at the gates of Paradise in his old age, after all his brothers and Draupadi, their collective wife, have fallen into the abyss. What follows is the final dénouement in the story, which I will not reveal, but which, in effect, turns the entire story on its head and challenges one to question all one's preconceptions in life. In essence, it stunningly underscores and emphasizes the dual themes of personal honor, integrity and morality (Dharma) versus the transitory, illusory nature of the world and of reality.
The film is brilliantly and powerfully directed by Peter Brook and adapted for stage and screen by Peter Brook, Jean-Claude Carrière and Marie-Hélène Estienne. It features some truly breathtaking and profoundly moving performances by the international cast of players including Georges Corraface as Duryodhana, the villainous, but ultimately sympathetic leader of the Kaurava clan; Vittorio Mezzogiorno as Arjuna, the elite warrior of the Pandava clan; Bruce Myers as Krishna, Arjuna's friend, confidante and spiritual guide; Jeffrey Kissoon as Karna, the estranged eldest Pandava brother and friend of Duryodhana; Andrzej Seweryn as Yudhishthira, the head of the Pandava clan; Mamadou Dioumé as Bhima, the Pandava strongman, and Mallika Sarabhai as the princess Draupadi, the wife of the Pandava brothers. The soundtrack is richly evocative of a distant, bygone era, with resounding instrumentals interspersed with periods of deafening silence. The subtlety in the richly textured imagery of the film, along with its superbly choreographed action sequences and innovative set design, make the film almost hypnotically memorable. Its dreamlike, mythic quality is accentuated by its use of sound, imagery and sepia-drenched color, at the hands of a truly original auteur of contemporary stage and film. All in all, this film is a truly moving and memorable viewing experience and I highly recommend it to everyone.
Horizon Cybermedia is about creating inspired works of artistic creativity which, like Peter Brook's film of The Mahabharata, resonate with modern audiences while evoking the rich texture of myth and legend. We are currently in the midst of editing the third film in our series, Exploration with Uday Gunjikar, on the remarkable historical monuments of the city of Calcutta, India. Do check back soon at our website http://www.explorationtheseries.com for further updates.
Wishing you the very best,
Uday Gunjikar,
Founder and CEO,
Horizon Cybermedia, Inc.
In times of personal crisis, I have a recurring dream or nightmare or image that sticks in my mind. I see myself standing, essentially, before the throne of God, with the finger of God pointing down at me in accusation and judgment.
It may sound clichéd, but I assure you, it is a very real experience. In times when I feel as if everything in life is going against me, I can vividly visualize myself standing before the most ominous, awe-inspiring, terrifying seat of judgment imaginable. Think of the most intimidating figure of authority you have ever been confronted by in your life and then imagine what the authority over them might be like—the authority figure that holds them accountable—infinitely more ominous and intimidating.
I see myself standing in abject awe and mortal terror as a massive finger points down at me from the remote reaches of that throne of judgment. I hear a rumbling voice thundering in the distance, asking me, "What do you have to say for yourself?"
What this experience brings home to me is that the universe is not blind causality—that beyond space and time, beyond everything, there is an ultimate force of authority—an authority that no one can escape, that everyone must confront, sooner or later, whether it may be in this life or beyond.
In response to this inquisition from on high, I find myself thinking of all the things that I could possibly say to justify my existence—and I find myself reflecting that nothing I could possibly say about my life could measure up to the awful finality of the judgment of God. I find myself feeling as though I were indicted by the tribunal of the Reign of Terror, sentenced to be beheaded at the guillotine—or by the Spanish Inquisition, condemned to rot in some abysmal dungeon for eternity.
I reflect that even the greatest humanitarian or wealthiest emperor who ever lived would be as nothing more than some miserable worm writhing in futility before this awesome throne of accusation and indictment. That it is inevitable and inescapable for every one of us—that no human soul can ever possibly escape the inevitability of confronting this seat of ultimate, final judgment.
And, furthermore, I reflect that nothing that anyone could possibly say or do can in any way justify oneself before the throne of God. One might be the most powerful, wealthiest, strongest, greatest human being who ever lived, but before the throne of God, none of it means anything. One is no more than a worm before the majesty of God and there is nothing one can say or do to justify oneself before the awe-inspiring perfection and impossible standards of God.
And then, in sheer desperation, I admit that I am a sinner, guilty of any number of errors, failings and shortcomings—only too human in my mind, but impossible to justify all the same.
Finally, at a loss over what to say or do, I quote the Bible—that in the name of Jesus Christ, my savior, the Son of God, I have the assurance of salvation. It is a last ditch attempt on my part—maybe this will work, if nothing else will.
And, after a moment's pause—a moment that seems like an eternity—I feel the awful weight of accusation and condemnation let up. I feel a sense of relief and release and sense that way up on high, God is smiling and nodding. I see the finger of accusation retract, transforming into a gigantic thumbs-up sign.
The ominous voice rumbles again. "You are free to go! You have answered correctly." And I feel the light of renewed life shine down into my life once again. I feel as though the awful certainty of condemnation has been lifted and I have been released once again to experience a renewal of life.
I then begin to reflect that this is the essence of my Christian faith. This is the key to salvation, to eternal life—that when one is confronted by the inevitable finality of judgment, the only escape is to testify to one's faith in Jesus Christ and experience the mercy and grace of God. Everything else in life is merely human philosophy or culture or art or mythology. The only reality, in the face of ultimate judgment from on high, is to testify to one's faith in Christ.
What strikes me about this whole experience is how real it is to me. It is not some sort of psychological contrivance concocted by my subconscious as a dramatization of the conflict of guilt vs. redemption. Rather, it strikes me as being a real experience with very real, tangible consequences in my life.
All I can say is that if you ever find yourself in a similar situation, there is only one escape that I know of—and that is to testify honestly to one's faith in Jesus Christ upon admission of one's personal fallen, sinful human nature. That is the only assurance one has of appealing to the grace and mercy of God in the face of judgment. You are welcome to try some other course of action if you think it might fare better, but I wish you good luck! The only sure, certain way I know of finding deliverance in the face of ultimate judgment is by calling upon the name of Jesus Christ and the assurance of personal salvation.
To be sure, all this sounds trite and clichéd—who hasn't heard all of this a thousand times before? That old story about judgment and redemption that any number of Bible-thumping evangelists have preached to our deafened ears over the years. And yet—it is not until one actually "experiences" what this really means—that is to say, in one's imagination or mind's eye, at least—that one can fully appreciate the meaning of this truism.
So take this as a helpful hint from someone who is letting you in on a secret that some day might well save your soul—when you face the throne of final judgment, whether literally or figuratively or in your imagination, appeal for mercy in the name of Jesus Christ. Nothing else can save you from that ultimate judgment!
Wishing you the very best,
Uday Gunjikar, Founder and CEO, Horizon Cybermedia, Inc.
Take a look around you—the symptoms are undeniable. The U.S. appears to be going the way of the U.S.S.R. Just as the Soviet Union, exhausted by years of combat in Afghanistan, finally collapsed under the weight of its own clunky, slow-witted, unmanageable bureaucracy, it appears that the U.S., in the wake of its own wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, is headed in a similar direction.
Now before you denounce me as some sort of "enemy of the state"—which you might well do if you happen to be infected by the Orwellian paranoia and mass hysteria that appears to be gripping our nation—I ask you to hear me out.
From the very beginning, the American economy has been fueled by ideas and ingenuity, imagination and innovation. It has only been thanks to ambitious entrepreneurs who have been willing to take the risk of funding creative ideas that our society has been able to advance from the era of horse-drawn carriages to that of space flight and the internet in the space of barely one century. It has been the radical visionaries of our age—the Edisons, the Einsteins, the Marconis—who have truly been responsible for advancing our society and economy into the modern age and away from the feudal past, enabling science to triumph over primitive superstition and ignorance.
What we are seeing in our society right now—the "New Deal" of the Obama administration—is, perhaps, important to keep the economy from bleeding to death. However, it is a patch fix at best—a short-term measure to keep the U.S. from going the way of the Soviet Union, which was total disintegration.
Moving forward—in order truly to stimulate the economy and bring about true economic growth, along with jobs and opportunities—in order to restore the failing heartbeat of our society—what is needed is radical action similar to applying an AED to a heart-attack victim.
In other words, what is needed is for entrepreneurs and financiers to start valuing radical ideas and visions and to start actively funding them at an unprecedented scale.
Sure, not all of them will succeed—but if even a fraction of all genuinely creative, imaginative ideas bears fruition, the rewards to the economy as well as to investors and creative innovators alike, is bound to be significant. It is only by taking risks with big ideas and encouraging creative and imaginative thinking in our society that we can reverse the trend towards gradual degeneration, in the direction of social disintegration and/or totalitarianism, as taken by the former Soviet Union, that we currently appear to be on.
In a prior weblog post, I compared my nascent media company, Horizon Cybermedia, to the Apollo 11 moon mission and the moon landing. Admittedly, the comparison is somewhat far-fetched, but, nevertheless, I continue to argue that the parallels that I drew do stand. I honestly believe that my vision of what a media company can be in our modern Information Age deserves serious consideration and the opportunity to succeed—if only I could inspire an investor to believe in my vision and provide the necessary financial backing!
But continuing on the subject of the Apollo 11 mission, I believe that there is a true visionary affiliated with that mission who deserves serious consideration by our society and especially by the current administration. I am referring to the astronaut and MIT Ph.D., Dr. Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin—surely a man who knows what he is talking about if there ever was one. His vision of a NASA funded project to take the era of space exploration beyond the moon—to Mars and beyond—thereby helping to jump-start the economy with a massive enterprise in technological innovation, one that would also promote the virtues of creativity and hard work, is a project that we all need to take very seriously if human society is to advance to the next phase of our cultural evolution—namely as a culture that looks beyond our terrestrial habitation to the heavens and stars.
This would be a massive investment in terms of new technology and innovation—but if the government can invest billions of taxpayer dollars in deficit spending as a cash incentive for people to trade in their gas-guzzling clunkers for more fuel-efficient vehicles as part of the so-called "Cash for Clunkers" program, then surely they can spare a few billion dollars to fund genuine technological creativity and innovation. After all, NASA has been at the forefront of technological innovation for decades past and in terms of ROI, it boasts a remarkable record, to say nothing of the contributions that NASA innovation has made to the world of consumer products.
Ultimately, all I can say is that if enterprising financiers displayed true far-sightedness by taking risks on projects that involve genuine technological innovation and imaginative creativity, I would venture to suggest that the odds of a healthy ROI are far greater than if they were to invest in shady financial dealings or risky ventures involving overseas capital!
Horizon Cybermedia is about taking media production forward into the Cyber Age—in a healthy, progressive direction and with attention to quality and high standards. All we need, at this stage, is for investors who are willing to believe in us and our vision—to take the risk of funding us in the second phase of our growth and expansion!
We look foward to hearing from you. You may contact us by email or via the contact form on our website. We also accept financial contributions via PayPal, and you may contribute securely by clicking on the "Donate" button to the right or on the contact page on our website.
Currently, we are in the middle of editing the next episode in our film series, Exploration with Uday Gunjikar, which will soon be available for viewing at our website, http://www.explorationtheseries.com.
Wishing you the very best,
Uday Gunjikar, Founder and CEO, Horizon Cybermedia, Inc.
