The Philosophy of Zoibortikism: Yz Factor and Secret Debates of the 21St Century

By Neil Ray

Time is the storyteller in this book, narrating the saga of mankind to his son, Beta, in the third volume of the series.

Neil Ray wrote the series after seeing the Twin Towers come crashing down Sept. 11, 2001. In the aftermath, a simple question struck him: Why do we find ourselves at such a crossroad?

In The Philosophy of Zoibortikism (a Zoibortik awakening is when one stops living so much in the past or in the future and starts cherishing the present), he draws upon the unbearable pain he felt that dark day. Through the narrator, he seeks to answer questions such as:

Why does the United States of America play such a pivotal role on the world stage?
Can democratic liberal values be used against democracy itself to topple it?
How have scientists and philosophers influenced history?

While textbooks focus on victors, this book takes a refreshing approach as it includes different perspectives. The core objective is to open up the universe a bit more so that the collective imagination of the human race is unleashed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Mar 24, 2021
• ISBN: 9781665704588

Neil Ray

Neil Ray is a thinker, philosopher, and writer. Born in a progressive intellectual family during the 1960s in India. Son of a legendary law book author and a well-known Judge, he grew up watching his father writing with impeachable integrity. He left Calcutta (now Kolkata), India, in his mid-twenties. After living in the Middle East (Bahrain) and Canada (Toronto), he settled in the United States of America. In addition to being a poet and painter, he enjoys traveling and visited over 25 countries thus far.

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ISBN: 978-1-6657-0457-1 (sc)

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Archway Publishing rev. date: 03/22/2021

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About the Author

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Author during childhood in India with his parents

A 20-21st Century philosopher, writer, entrepreneur and philanthropist, Neil Ray was born in a progressive intellectual family during the turbulent 1960s in India, which later represented the new wave of modern generations of that country. Son of a legendary law book author and a well-known Judge, he grew up watching his father burning his nights away in his crammed chamber — writing with impeachable integrity almost swallowed with stacks of books from floor to roof.

Neil decided to leave his beloved City of Joy – Calcutta (now Kolkata), India, during his Bohemian mid-20s, and after a short spell in the Middle East (Bahrain) and Canada (Toronto), he settled in the United States (Michigan) – the land of the free and the home of the brave. Apart from being a poet and a painter, he is also an avid reader and traveler. Having toured over twenty-five countries thus far, he has rubbed shoulders with the hoi polloi, sampled local cuisines and always sought to understand alien cultures and values.

When 9/11 happened just before Neil’s eyes, like millions of others in New York City, he was tormented. The sight of the burning towers and the unbearable agony of those around, posed a simple question — why on earth are we in this crossroad of civilization? Although at that point it had begun as an aimless query, after 16 years of diligent research and after gaining a much broader perspective and inner-wisdom, he crystalized his thoughts. This gave birth to his Magnus Opus — this book ‘The Autobiography of Time.’

FOREWORD

Horrific though it may seem to Human Civilization, COVID-19 is but a minor culling event of Nature - a sentient Mother Nature that is not only concerned about Mankind’s headlong rush to racial suicide, but determined now to put the brakes on it.

So poignantly explained by the protagonist of this book by Neil Ray, portents of doom are clear: coupled to Mankind’s own self-extermination is that along with his passing, Mankind will ensure that Earth becomes a pressure-cooker like planet a-la Venus – autoclaving all life; even down to microbes.

Inherently, as ordained by Nature, conditions on Earth capable of supporting life should last for another billion years, and thus sustain roughly 30 million generations of human beings. It and life on it has survived even Cosmic Cataclysm (although that proved to be an extinction event for dinosaurs). Alas, it is on the verge of extinction.

But, Neil’s work is not limited to apocalypse alone. It is a telling of the tale of our Civilization that has been around for just 7,000 years and is to end in another 250 years. Having been around for just 250 generations or so; its duration would have constituted but a brief flicker in Time.

Still, it has been an eventful epoch and a stage for fascinating players, diverse peoples and events galore. And Neil tells it simply, truthfully and in all its facets.

This book is clearly not meant to be an academic Historical Tome, despite the exhaustive research that it has obviously demanded. As far as historical fact is concerned its only agenda being presentation of the truth. There is a clear compartment between the actual (or what is best known of it) and the conjectural which is left to the protagonist. The historical content is cleansed of spin.

The matter is presented crisply and while some may find a few explanations to be long, most will find these extremely apt. A question that often pops up in drawing room conversations regarding India is how the richest region in the world became one of the poorest. And invariably, the resident drawing room expert will smugly say – Colonialism! But as Neil points out, the root cause is fragmentation of land, feudalism and overpopulation in that order. And how many know that Baghdad was once the greatest city in the world?

Whether about people or events, prevalent perceptions tend to be distortions of the actual; being either agendadriven or jingoistic or truisms. This manuscript, extensive researched, does set the record straight on much of our past. Of great interest is its handling of personalities – of idols with feet of clay or of real heroes callously consigned to oblivion by the now generation. While History repeats itself and villains emerge repeatedly, such heroes deserve to be resurrected and Humankind’s debt to them duly recognized.

A sentiment often expressed by Americans is that their efforts and sacrifices for other peoples in last 100 years, especially during WWI and WWII, and often for strangers xv in alien lands, their generous contributions by way of aid to hundreds of distressed nations, their fight against global terrorism - is not appreciated by much of the world. They are hurt, saddened and some, even deeply offended.

But, in common with a callously disregarding world, how many Americans know that someone who could have been the Mohammed Ali of Wrestling - Iowa born and Iowa bred, made the greatest contribution ever to the sustenance of Human Life. And Neil weaves the saga of this greatest of human heroes so aptly as it runs concurrently with those of a Chinese messiah turned villain and three Indians in roles of supporting heroes.

On many issues, there is no ‘Right’ or ‘Wrong’ judgment – Neil Ray narrates such situations from an impartial viewpoint – and quite often a deserving America emerges in a brighter light – but not necessarily for reasons you might think. As he makes the point, benign cultural attitudes played an important part in America winning the Pacific War.

So Neil Ray’s work should appeal to armchair historians of every kind; the now generation; and indeed anyone who likes stories; for even true stories can be fun. It should also be of interest to experts, for expertise increasingly seems to imply knowing more and more about less and less; and this manuscript is wide in its scope. While it does reflect the seamy side of our civilization, it is also replete with our achievements and nobler facets. If Napoleon’s love-life was a tortured one, FDR’s romance was moving.

Also, History (its outcomes; forks and twists) is a mix of connected sociology, geography, economics, psychology, science, music, the arts and so much else. Neil has adroitly made these connections wherever relevant.

Most importantly he raises the question: Will a manifestation of the Cosmos not intervene – in salvaging what was a wonderful throw of the dice by Nature?

COVID-19 seems to be just such that and just one of a series of culling and near-extermination events that Nature has thrown at Man. It seems so by design almost – cutting down on our proclivity to pollute; drastic in its dealing of the weak, infirm and feeble its effects are marginal on the virile and the fittest for survival. It has influenced our behavior – regrettably perhaps not enough.

One is indeed indebted to Neil Ray for this extensive labour of love that took 16 years in its making. Encomiums are also due to Archway Publishing (from Simon & Schuster) for their commitment in publishing this manuscript.

I hope the book will be read widely and translations made available world-wide for then it would have served the purpose in lending weight to those fighting the battle to ensure continuance of life on Earth.

Sanjay Mukerji

New Delhi

15 August 2020

In

memory of my father – reputed Judge and a genius

law book author of a different level and magnitude.

To my mother, my existence

and to all the good hearted folks around

the world, and generations to come….

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A Zoibortik awakening is when one stops living

so much in the past or in the future and starts

cherishing every drop of now; the present.

C O N T E N T S

VOLUME 3

Prologue

Book Nine - Midnight

Backdrop

Ancient Greek Philosophy

Indian Philosophy

Chinese Philosophy

European Philosophy

African Philosophy

American Philosophy

Philosophy of Zoibortikism

I’m Time…

Right Before Your Eyes

Beyond ‘Creature Comforts’

Respect for Tradition Vs. Spirit of Enquiry

Pleasure and Pain

Detachment

Zoibortikism Is Not Against Religion

We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know

Free Will and Feel Good

There’s More Than What Meets the Eye

Death

Content - Volume 1

Content - Volume

Books Cited or Recommended

Acknowledgements

PROLOGUE

The seed of this book was planted in my mind in the morning of September 11, 2001 in New York City. Looking at the burning towers with unbearable pain and agony - a simple question struck me – why on earth are we in this crossroad of civilization? Although at that point it had started as an aimless query, at the end it claimed 16 long years of my research; yet I know that it won’t be able to let a leaf fall from a tree! Then, why on earth this effort…?

More than anything, it’s because of my deep interest and passion about three things; Time, Country and Philosophy. Secondly, I believe that, if we judge world events in isolation, view history in slices without viewing it holistically, if we cannot learn from the past by looking retrospectively - we always run the risk of judgmental mistakes; which may lead us to win a battle, or a debate, yet lose a war. Without that core sense, there is always a possibility of not seeing the forest because of the trees.

Besides me, if there is anyone to blame for this book, it would be my charming history professor Paul at University of Maryland. This singular idol, having aroused my passion for history many moons ago, inspired me to excavate brass tacks, which led me to stumble upon a gold mine of eternal verities. If not for him, this book would never have been envisioned. Clad in simple blue jeans, with a Coco-cola in one hand, and a Dominican cigar in another, he used to narrate riveting stories - dipping his ladle into chronicles to dish out the most fascinating of nuggets, with such eloquent flair that I cherished every ounce of those symposiums, and felt eternally ravenous for more. I vividly remember - it was a splendid sunny afternoon in the football field outside, when he commenced a class with a casual mention of the movie Gone with the Wind, and then, even before we could fully comprehend, he effortlessly moved on to American Civil War. One particularly interesting narrative was about an anxious lady from Philadelphia outside the Independence Hall, where deliberations of the Constitutional Convention in 1787 were held in austere confidentiality, asked Benjamin Franklin while he was leaving, "Well, Doctor, what have we got? With no hesitation, Franklin responded magically uttering, A republic, if you can keep it."

What set my mentor apart was the punch he added to his narratives. What might otherwise seem like a soporific colloquium in any other history class around the world was never the case here. He recounted momentous events with the same zest that went into their making - like when in June of 1987 Ronald Reagan stood in front of the infamous Berlin Brandenburg Gate and exclaimed, "Mr. Gorbachev. Tear down this wall", to the unanimous outcry of, We are the People by over a million freedom lovers in front of that same gate after two years just before it was demolished. And Mikhail Gorbachev’s prophetic statement to the International Press just two days earlier, on the 40th anniversary of the foundation of the East Germany, "He, who comes too late will suffer the consequences of history".

No one owns history; yet, we all witness and endure. While one sees a glass half full, another sees it half-empty; even as the first bit is true, it doesn’t necessarily imply the remaining part untrue. No matter how one fries a pancake, there always will be two sides, and none of those sides could be badly motivated. Franz Kafka once said, "The history of mankind is the instant between two strides taken by a traveler." Yes. History is ambiguous; it is argumentative, prejudiced and often on a shifting sand. It is said that it is always written by the victors, and the defeated have no recourse. Yet Upanishad says:

Satyam eva jayate.

Means: Truth alone triumphs

As described by Henry Kissinger, if we examine the events of just last few centuries, almost like a natural law, one country with enough clout, puissance, inspiration and the requisite intellect seems to emerge as the leader to shape the entire international system with its own will. If in the 17thcentury, it was France under Cardinal Richelieu, then it was most certainly Britain in the 18th century, with its concept of Balance of Power, which had, since then, dominated the European power-play for nearly two hundred years. Replacing Britain, what emerged thereafter was the United States of America.

In my mind, there is no single country in the history of mankind that ever wielded such an influence on other nations. It was perceived thus in the 20th century and even today, the pivotal role of the United States has not only been in asserting its military might to maintain the world equilibrium, but also in refraining from taking advantage of its subjugators, and placing moral values above enormous expansion scope abroad – while constantly purifying and undoing their past slipups.

America is not perfect. It has the same issues like any other countries. Yet, my fascination for this nation since my early bohemian youth was particularly for its global leadership, backed by idealism and moral convictions. The early settlers found a vast land with unlimited resources, with almost no resistance and no policy baggage to obey. The nation’s Founding Fathers consciously eliminated all the perils of the European systems at that point, and sought to find a perfect world, the best government and a democratic civic society – on which the entire civilization could look up to. And I’m not shy to confess that like billions others across the globe, I too looked upon America as the light of freedom, a beacon of hope – "a shining city on a hill."

Like a natural law, the world is changing rapidly. The demographic is changing, the knowledge-base is changing, and the attitude is changing. In this early 21st century with the rat-race getting stiffer by the day, emerging nations are catching up with great leaps, and rightly so. Yet, in the meantime, the realities of interdependence have dictated the foreign policy of all the nations on earth based on their respective geopolitical situations. In the era of Facebook, Twitter and iPhone – the world is now truly a global village, with billions of free and open-minded World Citizens.

The relative military might of a handful of powerful nations is bound to decline over time, and some amendments, compromise and regulations are inevitable – and for a good reason. In my mind, this century shall observe two apparent contradictory properties; on one hand, it will experience constant chaos, discrete extremism and fight for fragmentation. And on other hand there will be growing globalization and a common sense of Universal Brotherhood – far beyond mere political boundaries. While core liberal values, persuasion for globalization, the tenets of market-based economy shall remain almost unchanged in most regions, the pressure on limited resources will simultaneously unleash more and more scrutiny on mass immigration and integration beyond borders at the same time, and more particularly by populous demands. Thus, global leaders – the true leaders shall continue to face insurmountable challenges on upholding equality and advocating broader prosperity for all - against mere practicality and short-term regional gain.

As decades will pass by, there would be more and more nations in a position to challenge predominance of a handful of powerful nations, and as a result the overall quality and the benchmark of this civilization shall constantly endeavor to reach new heights. Simultaneously, all nations have become aware of the presence of a new set of trials that pose a threat to civilizations – global warming, population explosion, nuclear proliferation, global terrorism and economic interdependencies. Nations have also begun to realize that these can be addressed only collectively.

Ronald Reagan once said, "We champion freedom not only because it is practical and beneficial, but because it is morally right … Backing this statement was Barak Obama’s proclamation in UN, which held ample legitimacy when he stated, An individual is free to determine his own destiny, and live with liberty, dignity, justice and opportunity. We believe that freedom and self-determination are not unique to one culture. It is not simply an American value or Western value. These are universal values…" I believed it then. I believe it today. Yes, Freedom and Self Determination are two magical words. Let us add two more to it - Opportunity and Peaceful Coexistence.

‘Men will come, men will go and only the best will stay’. Similarly Kings and Sultans to Empires and Dynasties - will also come and go. Every civilization of a nation after reaching its pinnacle is bound to be redefined, if not decline - while other nations compete for the same apex, and this cycle of race which is spontaneous and inevitable at the same time, will persist. This ongoing tussle has been occurring for ages, and will continue for forever, as our fundamental inherent characteristic is desire to prosper whether as a nation, a religion, a profit-seeking corporation or a single individual.

Yet, for many nations, the existence of Balance of Power - Sphere of Influence and broad inclination of maintaining Status-quo deter the Big Fish from swallowing Small Fishes at their will, which in turn allows the coexistence of over hundred-ninety diverse and sovereign