Tagore: The most fundamental human desire is to live

What is desire? If there is no desire, what is a man alive for?

Desire is because of greed, and greed comes from ignorance, how can we not ignorance? That requires clarity.

The most fundamental human desire is to live, and driven by this desire, we have accumulated many life-sustaining experiences. Because of all that great knowledge, practice and organization, we have food, clothing and shelter to eat. I possess all these abilities or skills, but I admit them because I know I shall not be taken lightly for them, and even because readers prefer me to remain a poet or a philosopher -- the latter of which I am especially ashamed of, and which I know is due to false love, and which I dare not claim.

Despite my lack of skills, I still have a job that has earned me a lot of praise in the real world. If a thrush spends all day singing instead of feeding, building a nest or protecting itself, its mates will let it starve to death. But I was not treated this way in human civilization, which shows that human civilization is very different from animals. The difference between man and animal lies in the infinite possibilities of human development, and people can dream and create on this stage as they wish. Wandering in the free world, human beings will feel the dignity and truth of human nature, so civilization will feel the joy of poetry and music, so they continue to explore, continue to create, and make themselves closer to the perfect state.

No matter from any point of view, the truth, is along the feelings of the heart of the people. Reality is not something we fantasize about, it is something we feel. Because of this, even if it is contrary to rational thinking, it will not be discarded by us. If truth is regarded as an event, it may be judged as good or bad; If we think of it as revelation, then its meaning is to be experienced through emotion; Humans will perceive themselves in this particular vision. If there is no harm to our bodies or moral debt, our hearts are very pleased by the feeling; In other words, if this feeling takes us away from reality for a short time, whether it's fear or sadness, we enjoy it. This is why we love tragedy, because the pain it brings brings out in us a strong sense of consciousness.

To me, the existence of the self is first and foremost the most immediate and definite; Then there are other things, equally real, that not only capture my attention and resonate with me, but also enrich and delight me. My friends do not have to be beautiful or noble, they are real, as long as I find myself in them and enjoy it.

The inner sense of reality also needs to be truly confirmed from the outside, otherwise the inner will become negative and low. Once a person's external environment is monotonous, there will be no emotional ups and downs in the mind, and eventually the feeling will become duller and duller. People, like pictures, need a harmonious background to be true. Why is it particularly painful for prisoners to be placed in solitary confinement? It is because the connection between the self and the outside world is suspended that the mind stagnates, making people confused and unable to see themselves clearly. Once the personality becomes vague, the ego shrinks and eventually loses its sense of existence.

The world of knowledge expands with information, while the world of humanity grows with the accumulation of self-experience through empathy and the enrichment of imagination.