Nondualism vs Historical Materialism
by Danilo Stern-Sapad
A philosophical hip-hop track exploring the pros and cons of nondualism and historical materialism.
Lyrics
[Nondualism] I transcend all divisions, I dissolve every frame, You stuck in the dialectic, trapped inside the game. No masters, no workers, no class to define, All matter’s illusion, just tricks of the mind.
You stack up your theory, but thought is a cage, I sit in the silence, beyond time and age. Marx saw the symptoms but missed what was real, You chase revolution, I already healed.
You push contradiction, but I see the flow, There’s no opposition, it’s one, don’t you know? History’s cycles? That’s mind playing tricks, Drop all attachment, there’s nothing to fix.
[Historical Materialism] You floating in nothingness? That’s just a joke, While you meditate, people stay broke. No dialectics? Then how do we rise? You sit in your void while the world’s set to die.
Material forces, they shape how we live, You talk about balance? The ruling class wins. No masters? No workers? Just theory you preach, But who owns production? Who profits? Who eats?
Your mind is at peace? That’s bourgeois retreat, I’m out in the streets, you just sit on a seat. You think it’s illusion? Well, class war is real, The system won’t fall just by changing how you feel.
[Nondualism] You swingin’ at shadows, it’s all just a play, The moment is infinite, I’m free every day. Struggle just binds you, keeps feeding the fight, Let go of resistance, step into the light.
The worker, the owner, they’re ripples, not waves, Attachment to outcomes just leads to new slaves. Liberation ain’t found in control or in war, It’s seeing through ego and wanting no more.
You battle with systems, but who is the “you”? Drop all distinction, see through what is true. You fight for a world that you think you can fix, But nothing was broken, just watch how it shifts.
[Historical Materialism] Nah, that’s that pacifist talk of the past, The ruling class loves when we sit back and laugh. You say it’s illusion, but tell that to those, Who starve while elites sip champagne at their shows.
You think that the struggle just ties us in chains? But only through struggle do people reclaim. The means of production, the power, the land, History ain’t neutral, it’s built by demand.
Your “letting go” only lets rulers stay, The system persists when we look the other way. You “watch how it shifts”? We shift it ourselves, Break down the structures, bring heaven to hell.
[Synthesis] Yo, listen, both sides been caught in the feud, One seeks the struggle, the other sees through. But history ain’t just a war or escape, It’s evolution, a world taking shape.
Marx saw the chains, but Buddha saw mind, One fought oppression, the other declined. Yet neither alone can fully explain, How matter and spirit must rise as a flame.
Revolution? Yeah, but with wisdom intact, Not just the hammer, but light in the cracks. Not just the struggle, not just inner peace, But growth of the whole till oppression’s deceased.
History ain’t random, it ain’t just a fight, It’s humanity waking from deep into light. Each war, each famine, each throne that collapses, A lesson to bring us to new social classes.
From slaves to serfs, then workers unite, Each step was needed to sharpen our sight. But beyond just the dialects, beyond all the strife, Is conscious progression, unfolding of life.
Nondualism spoke of illusion and peace, But matter ain’t false, it’s how we increase. Historical struggle? Yeah, that’s a fact, But what are we building when we take power back?
Yo, revolution ain’t just for material gain, If we rise with no vision, then suffering remains. It ain’t just the owners, the state, or the bread, It’s the inner corruption inside of our heads.
And peace ain’t enough if the world still bleeds, Meditation won’t fill an empty child’s needs. So what’s the solution? What’s the new way? A synthesis rising beyond class decay.
We seize the means, but also the mind, Justice and wisdom must be combined. No gods, no masters? Yo, let’s go higher— To self-realization, a world set on fire.
Copyright 2025 Danilo Stern-Sapad