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Holon

Rain, boughs and the earth: holon


Holon is what you and I are.  Arthur Koestler coined that word to mean something that is simultaneously a whole and a part.  There are creatures like the ants and the bees which are autonomous individuals but choose to live as integral parts of a community.  They are ideal examples of holon. 

The whole cosmos is a huge organism and we are just parts of it.  But we are autonomous too.  We have carried that autonomy too far with our selfishness.  We have exploited the cosmos as best as we possibly could forgetting that it is a living system which has its own biological processes.  We have dumped too much waste into that system which is killing it slowly.

If only we understand that we are as much part of that system as a wheel is in a complex clockwork, we may realise the need to respect the cosmos.  Magic will be the result of that realisation. 

You are you, but you are also the others.  You are the rock on the mountains and the waves in the oceans.  You are the flower in the garden and the bee in the air.  You are the next person who sits beside you in a lounge.  You are the star in the heavens.  You are the sand grain on the roadside.

Instead we insist on being detached.  I have to be at the centre of the universe.  I need all the luxury possible even at the cost of other creatures.  That’s what we have turned the system into today.  That’s why the system is a hell.

There were much better systems.  The primitive people didn’t see themselves as apart from the cosmos.  They saw themselves as a part of the cosmos. Most tribal people who still follow their ancient systems know the magic of holon.  Unfortunately those who have set themselves as the centres of the cosmos have destroyed the healthy systems of the tribal people.  And lost the magic of holon in the process. 

We can always bring back that magic.  Start with seeing yourself as the stone in your yard, the flower in your garden, the man walking on the street.
PS. 8th post in the #BlogchatterA2Z series

Comments

  1. UnknownApril 9, 2018 at 10:08 AM

    One of the best and most truthful blogs I have read in my life...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalApril 9, 2018 at 10:42 AM

      Thank you. I'm very glad to see a comment from you after a long time.

      Delete
  2. Ravish ManiApril 9, 2018 at 1:30 PM

    What a wonderful post! Truly a gem. It seems that Holon is the only word that could replace Tao.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalApril 9, 2018 at 7:02 PM

      Yes, maybe the concept of holon has much in common with Tao.

      Delete
  3. wingsApril 9, 2018 at 8:20 PM

    It seems the concept is followed in the workplace hierarchy as well. How can exploitation be accommodated in the realm of coordination if we are to be a part of a team? How can I act on the philosophy of Holon here?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalApril 9, 2018 at 8:29 PM

      There are two things when it comes to a teamwork. One, each member has to understand that she is an individual as well as part of the team. Two, when any member forgets one the system is corrupted. Moral: there's no alternative to understanding.

      Delete

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