Well in my childhood I always thought the elders to be cuckoo when they discussed Ghalib, Kaifi Azmi and the like. Similarly I failed to understand all the commotion when a serial based on Ghalib was aired on DD national.Also I thought people to be bigger goner when they discussed english poetry by wordsworth or shelly or others. Little did I imagine it then that one day I would be smitten by the same verses of Ghalib on which I used to laugh. Time and age are funny things in retrospection.
Like many artists before and after him his life was not a smooth sailing.Born in 1797 in Agra he was a self taught person. Maybe its the pain that brings out such magical verses.A sample:-
Hain aur bhi duniya mein sukhanwar bahut acche
Kahte hain ki Ghalib ka hai andaaz-i-bayaan kuch aur
[ There are many good poets in this world, but they say Ghalib's telling is something else...] The funny part is Ghalib was aware of his talent and in many of his writings has indirectly said the same thing in a satirical tone.
Har ek baat par kahte ho ki tu kya hai
tumhi kaho ki andaaz-e-guftagu kya hai
Rago mein daute phirne ke hum nahin kaayal
Jab tapka hi nahin aankh se to lahu kya hai.
Well this is another beauty.One can read any meaning from this stanza but as one goes deeper a new meaning is bound to come.Maybe that's the beauty of master's: the literal meaning is good but hidden or deciphered meaning is better.
[Meaning :On every occasion you say- what are you?Please do tell what is this way of talk. I am not pleased by the mere running in veins;Till it flows from the eyes what sort of blood is that] Now it is crude and literal meaning of the sher. I am deliberately shying away away from proper translation for no matter how hard i try, i can't do justice to the words.
Hazaron khwaisen aisi ki har khwaish par dum nikle
bahut nikale mere armaaN lekin phir bhii kam nikale
nikalanaa Khuld se aadam kaa sunte aaye hain lekin
bahut beaabaruu hokar tere kuuche se ham nikale
muhabbat men nahiin hai farq jiine aur marane kaa
usii ko dekh kar jiite hain jis kaafir pe dam nikale
Khudaa ke vaaste pardaa na kaabe se uThaa zaalim
Kahiin aisaa na ho yaaN bhii vahii kaafir sanam nikale
KahaaN maiKhaane ka daravaazaa 'Ghalib' aur kahaaN vaaiz
par itanaa jaanate hain kal vo jaataa thaa ke ham nikale
Another beauty.But it looses all its sheen when u translate it.One has to know the language to appreciate the melody,the rhythm and the tongue in cheek approach of ghalib.
thousand desires rule, each worth dying for
Though many of them were fulfilled, but they were in minority.
We had heard of Adam’s expulsion from Paradise but
With greater shame (disgrace) I came out of your street.
In love there is no difference between life and death
I live by seeing her, the one, over whom I die.
Please in the name of God, don't pull the curtain off Kaaba (In Macca,sacred )
What if here too I see , my beloved (who has rejected me)
Where is the door to the bar,and where is the preacher
But I know this much, yesterday, when he was going, I was coming out.
How about one of my favorite ghazals:
Yeh na thi hamari kismat ki wisaal-e-yaar hota,
agar aur jeete rehte yahee intezaar hota!
[It was not my destiny that I unite with my beloved.
If i had lived more,I would have waited (for the moment)]
Tere wade par jiye hum toh yeh jaan jhuuth jana,
main khushee se mar na jaata agar eitabaar hota
[To think that I lived on your promise, that’s not true…
Wouldn’t have I died with joy, if I had trusted you!]
Terii naazukii se jaanaa ke ba.ndhaa thaa ahad buudaa
kabhii tuu na to.d sakataa, agar usatavaar hotaa
Hue mar ke hum jo rusawa, hue kyo na gharg-e-dariya
na kabhee janaaza uthata, na kahee mazaar hota..
[If I gain bad fame after death? Why didn’t I drown in sea
Coffin wouldn't be needed, no tomb would exist]
Koee mere dil se poonche, ki yeh teer-e-neem kash ko
Yeh khalish kahaan se hotee jo jigar ke paar hota
[Ask my heart- the way you have aimed the arrow,
How would i feel the sting, if it’d gone thru the heart(i.e. it's still there)]
Ye kahaa.n kii dostii hai ke bane hai.n dost naaseh
koii chaaraa saaz hotaa, koii gam gusaar hotaae
[ Where's friendship is that, who call themselves my friend & give me advice
When all i want is someone to listen, some one to soothe pain]
Kahoon kis se main ke kya hai, shab-e-gham buri bala hai,
mujhe kya bura tha marna ? agar ek baar hota
[To whom do I tell? Dark nights of sorrows (of separation) are difficult…
I would have better died; I would have suffered just once]
Ye masaa\-el\-e\-tasavvuf, ye teraa bean, gaalib
tujhe ham vaalii samajhate, jo na baadah khaar hotaa
[Galib, your thinking and phrases are great!
If we’d not seen your drunken side, we would have called you a saint!]
After reading through his poetry and going in a bit deeper you feel out for the shayar for despite all his fanfare with words, he knew in his heart that he was a loser in this world- maybe that's why he had taken to drinking. And maybe that's why the pangs of separation are so beautifully brought out.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
High Tide in Mumbai : Me & N95
Tides have always held a fascination for man.And it was not until Newton came that we truly began to understand as to why tides occur.A tide in its simplest form can be said to be periodic rise & fall in large bodies of water due to the gravitational pull of moon.The gravitational attraction of the moon causes the oceans to bulge out in the direction of the moon. Another bulge occurs on the opposite side.Therefore, there are two high tides and two low tides. The ocean is constantly moving from high tide to low tide, and then back to high tide. There is about 12 hours and 25 minutes between the two high tides.
The high tide at Mumbai on 24th july
Spring Tides occur When the moon is full or new.The combined gravitational pull of moon and sun causesvery high tides and the low tides are very low.Spring tides are especially strong tides They occur when the Earth, the Sun, and the Moon are in a line.
Neap Tides occur when sun and moon are perpendicular to each other (quarter phases) resulting in low high and low tides.
Spring tides and neap tide levels are about 20% higher or lower than average.
The third type Proxigean Spring Tide is a rare( once every 1.5 yrs), unusually high tide. This occurs when the moon is both unusually close to the Earth (at its closest perigee, called the proxigee) and in the New Moon phase (when the Moon is between the Sun and the Earth).
The highest tides in the world are at the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, Canada.
So it was lifetime opportunity to go & watch the highest tide of the century for mumbai today. So despite all the warnings of BMC to stay indoors i went out to see the unusually high tides at 5.05 meters, with a guilty conscience although. And i am not sorry i did.Armed with my N95 i did have some opportunity to click those fun filled moments that always satisfy an amateur photographer.
Oh how can one explain the fun you have when you get drenched by a wave that comes all of a sudden without any expectation. Or how you feel when you wait for another wave like that only to be disappointed with the meek show put up. Then again another high wave comes to tease you.
And looks like i was not the only one to go. It looked like the whole of mumbai had turned up to watch the show put up by nature. And they were not disappointed going by the smiles they held on their faces.
Above are some of the photographs clicked using N95.Though most of the times i was afraid of ruining it, thankfully it survived the experience. Looking forward to more such experiences. I will leave you with one pic of the high rises at nariman point.
The high tide at Mumbai on 24th july
Spring Tides occur When the moon is full or new.The combined gravitational pull of moon and sun causesvery high tides and the low tides are very low.Spring tides are especially strong tides They occur when the Earth, the Sun, and the Moon are in a line.
Neap Tides occur when sun and moon are perpendicular to each other (quarter phases) resulting in low high and low tides.
Spring tides and neap tide levels are about 20% higher or lower than average.
The third type Proxigean Spring Tide is a rare( once every 1.5 yrs), unusually high tide. This occurs when the moon is both unusually close to the Earth (at its closest perigee, called the proxigee) and in the New Moon phase (when the Moon is between the Sun and the Earth).
The highest tides in the world are at the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, Canada.
So it was lifetime opportunity to go & watch the highest tide of the century for mumbai today. So despite all the warnings of BMC to stay indoors i went out to see the unusually high tides at 5.05 meters, with a guilty conscience although. And i am not sorry i did.Armed with my N95 i did have some opportunity to click those fun filled moments that always satisfy an amateur photographer.
Oh how can one explain the fun you have when you get drenched by a wave that comes all of a sudden without any expectation. Or how you feel when you wait for another wave like that only to be disappointed with the meek show put up. Then again another high wave comes to tease you.
And looks like i was not the only one to go. It looked like the whole of mumbai had turned up to watch the show put up by nature. And they were not disappointed going by the smiles they held on their faces.
Above are some of the photographs clicked using N95.Though most of the times i was afraid of ruining it, thankfully it survived the experience. Looking forward to more such experiences. I will leave you with one pic of the high rises at nariman point.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
And Thou shalt have the Twitter
It's funny as to how sometimes small but inspiring ideas change the status quo so much that they become in themselves a powerful word- and many a times they get to make an entry in the lexicon. Now who isn't interested in telling his near and dear ones, barring perhaps the employee to his boss, what he or she is doing. A simple idea.And who doesn't like sms service- writing a short message that conveys the essentials without worrying the writer or the reader.Another simple idea. And who doesn't like the digital technology-always on,always live, ever knowing.And the power of numbers on a common platform. Add all these ideas and what do you get? Well a powerful idea that goes by the name Twitter.Now if you haven't heard about it, it's time you picked yourself up and dust yourself and start keeping your eyes & ears open.
Twitter in it's simplest definition is a microblogging service, whein you answer one fundamental question within 140 words "what are you doing?".Sounds boring for all its hype, doesn't it? Well not if you are in tune with modern times and have used the service. Now for the starting story, its better if you hear it from the horses mouth at the following url: [http://www.140characters.com/2009/01/30/how-twitter-was-born/]
In the start what was fun morphed into something serious when the state department asked Twitter to put off maintenance that would have temporarily cut off service, so that news from Iran could come out.A small sample from the twitter:
jadi: We can hear shootings.. many shoots. People are still shouting Allaho Akbar and Down With Dictator and “Mousavi/Karroubi where is my vote?” Tehran 2 minutes ago from choqoK
JomhuriyeIran: RT @nansen “The Revolution will be Twittered”. http://bit.ly/xJxyc (expand) #Iranelection #CNNfail #FoxNewsFail #MSMfail Tehran 5 minutes ago from web
mkhanjani: Now people loudly say “Alah o Akbar” (God is Great) from their home windows to show their protest againt cheating in election Tehran 7 minutes ago from web
parhamdoustdar: Going out to join the croud, with my mother guiding me. I will fill you in on the details soon! Sit tight! #iranElection Tehran, Iran 13 minutes ago from web
angry_lion: im going to take part in protests. i come back to the twitter if i would stay alive. Tehran, Iran 19 minutes ago from web
Students & people fighting back a large group of police & Basij right now at university of physics! I’m going to join them. #iranelection about 1 hour ago from TwitterFox
Imagine all that live and in real time.That's when you start respecting this service. Twitter also produced eyewitness accounts of the Mumbai terrorist attacks last year. And when the US Airways jetliner crashed into New York's Hudson River, Twitter was among the first places photos of the landing were linked. It's changing the landscape of media in the developed countries. It is emerging as new place for citizen reporting instead of the normal media. There in is its biggest strength as well as weakness. Why weakness? Because it is not inveztigative journalism.Any news is so fast to spread on twitter that it can't be confirmed.One only has to look at the daily rumors spread on twitter to know the extent of the problem. Imagine the case of Patrick Swayze,currently battling pancreatic cancer, who had to defend that he is still alive after thousands of Twitter users spread the news that he was dead.
Next in line is the concept of instant free marketing.No designing web pages,no hosting servers, just plain proposition in 140 short words.What can you do with 140 characters or less, the length of each tweet? A lot, restaurants are discovering - everything from posting daily specials to luring followers with offers of free appetizers to offering a glimpse of kitchen life. It’s all good for business.
It's also a trending site. Search for any word and find real time access to what people are saying about it.No need to read the lengthy reports, just 140 character and you know what the person's view about the product, service or trend are. Just search onto any trend and find the power of numbers & brevity take your breadth away.
Though it is a new service (what 2 years old!) and is yet to gain popularity all over the world but imagine the potential when almost anyone can come online and give vent to his voice without the need to make complex sentences and showing complicated ideas : Just type like sms, in broken english and bingo your voice is on a equal footing with other digital natives. It should be the next great leveler.
And people who ignore Twitter will do so at their own risk.
Twitter in it's simplest definition is a microblogging service, whein you answer one fundamental question within 140 words "what are you doing?".Sounds boring for all its hype, doesn't it? Well not if you are in tune with modern times and have used the service. Now for the starting story, its better if you hear it from the horses mouth at the following url: [http://www.140characters.com/2009/01/30/how-twitter-was-born/]
In the start what was fun morphed into something serious when the state department asked Twitter to put off maintenance that would have temporarily cut off service, so that news from Iran could come out.A small sample from the twitter:
jadi: We can hear shootings.. many shoots. People are still shouting Allaho Akbar and Down With Dictator and “Mousavi/Karroubi where is my vote?” Tehran 2 minutes ago from choqoK
JomhuriyeIran: RT @nansen “The Revolution will be Twittered”. http://bit.ly/xJxyc (expand) #Iranelection #CNNfail #FoxNewsFail #MSMfail Tehran 5 minutes ago from web
mkhanjani: Now people loudly say “Alah o Akbar” (God is Great) from their home windows to show their protest againt cheating in election Tehran 7 minutes ago from web
parhamdoustdar: Going out to join the croud, with my mother guiding me. I will fill you in on the details soon! Sit tight! #iranElection Tehran, Iran 13 minutes ago from web
angry_lion: im going to take part in protests. i come back to the twitter if i would stay alive. Tehran, Iran 19 minutes ago from web
Students & people fighting back a large group of police & Basij right now at university of physics! I’m going to join them. #iranelection about 1 hour ago from TwitterFox
Imagine all that live and in real time.That's when you start respecting this service. Twitter also produced eyewitness accounts of the Mumbai terrorist attacks last year. And when the US Airways jetliner crashed into New York's Hudson River, Twitter was among the first places photos of the landing were linked. It's changing the landscape of media in the developed countries. It is emerging as new place for citizen reporting instead of the normal media. There in is its biggest strength as well as weakness. Why weakness? Because it is not inveztigative journalism.Any news is so fast to spread on twitter that it can't be confirmed.One only has to look at the daily rumors spread on twitter to know the extent of the problem. Imagine the case of Patrick Swayze,currently battling pancreatic cancer, who had to defend that he is still alive after thousands of Twitter users spread the news that he was dead.
Next in line is the concept of instant free marketing.No designing web pages,no hosting servers, just plain proposition in 140 short words.What can you do with 140 characters or less, the length of each tweet? A lot, restaurants are discovering - everything from posting daily specials to luring followers with offers of free appetizers to offering a glimpse of kitchen life. It’s all good for business.
It's also a trending site. Search for any word and find real time access to what people are saying about it.No need to read the lengthy reports, just 140 character and you know what the person's view about the product, service or trend are. Just search onto any trend and find the power of numbers & brevity take your breadth away.
Though it is a new service (what 2 years old!) and is yet to gain popularity all over the world but imagine the potential when almost anyone can come online and give vent to his voice without the need to make complex sentences and showing complicated ideas : Just type like sms, in broken english and bingo your voice is on a equal footing with other digital natives. It should be the next great leveler.
And people who ignore Twitter will do so at their own risk.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince
When the trailers for the film came out it promised a great deal fun & excitement. And why not? It is supposed to tell the story of the penultimate year at hogwarts of the central character : Harry Potter. And the times are dark, with voldermott gaining power and recruitng his brand of followers-dementors,giants etc.
So it was with high expectations that i braved the mumbai rains & went in to watch the movie. Sadly the film did not live up to its expectations. In todays world CGI is accepted fare and we already have seen such spectacles & sometimes better than this to accept everything at face value.No! in case of HBP something more than CGI was required.And it is where the film loses out.
The starting five minutes do work in raising your tempo: with three death eaters wrecking havoc on a house and a bridge in London.The visual imagery is fantastic esp when dumbledore asks harry to take his arm & disapparates to slughorn's locality.There you find slughorn in the form of sofa with the house broken down. The scene when dumbledore goes in search of something thereby leaving harry alone in the company of slughorn, knowing his weakness for collecting trophies ( famous people) ; & then returns with a magazine in hand is comically brilliant and true to the book.
The stirrings of love in harry for ginny is shown nicely as is the tension between ron & harmione.Harry & ginny do happen to steal a few moments in between the madness that is unfolding around them.It is all very credible and nicely done in the movie, still it leaves a lot to be desired. The film loses out between showing the love story or showing the action story : and in trying to show both on a equal footing falls flat on both accounts.
The sequence of attack on weasely home seemed forced & out of place with harry & ginny fighting off dementors on their own. The scene where they fight the dementors could be handled in more deft ways. Maybe i am turning greedy in here for i disired to see more of the duel than is shown.
The four parallel story lines of harry getting the half blood princes book, love affairs, his trying to get the memory of slughorn & harry's education with dumbledore proceed well. Each is taken care off with the love & memory taking prominence and hijacking the movie. The child hood scenes of tom riddle are handled nicely thought the menace is missing.The whole movie has only this much of voldermort's appearance.
The quiddatch matches have also been shown & for once someone else than harry takes centre stage. And then towards the end the film lights up again. It's at the entrance of the cave when harry & dumbledore stand on a rock with sea all around: that u admire the breadth taking view & vision of director (yates probably). The finding of fake horcrux in the end scene is brilliantly done.BUT the same cannot be said of the scene of dumbledore's killing & after.The death eaters come & leave the hogwart's ground without any fight except the 10 second duel with harry at the fag end of the movie.
The film is brilliant in parts but some how the summation leaves a lot to be desired.I, for one, feel that the last installment was much better than this movie.Now with the news that the last part of the movies will be split into two movies i am hoping that they will be better than this and not just a premise to extend the money minting machine.When last heard the movie studio is on the lookout for overcoming the James Bond franchise ( 22 films for some $5 billion odd versus the 5 films of potter for $4.25 billion leaving this out).
Let's see what the future brings!
The rushes of 2012 look brilliant. This is a film by the director of day after tomorrow,Independence day,godzilla,patriot etc, Mr Rolland Emmerich. It explores the premise that world will encounter a catastrophe in the year 2012. Let's see how the film turns out.
So it was with high expectations that i braved the mumbai rains & went in to watch the movie. Sadly the film did not live up to its expectations. In todays world CGI is accepted fare and we already have seen such spectacles & sometimes better than this to accept everything at face value.No! in case of HBP something more than CGI was required.And it is where the film loses out.
The starting five minutes do work in raising your tempo: with three death eaters wrecking havoc on a house and a bridge in London.The visual imagery is fantastic esp when dumbledore asks harry to take his arm & disapparates to slughorn's locality.There you find slughorn in the form of sofa with the house broken down. The scene when dumbledore goes in search of something thereby leaving harry alone in the company of slughorn, knowing his weakness for collecting trophies ( famous people) ; & then returns with a magazine in hand is comically brilliant and true to the book.
The stirrings of love in harry for ginny is shown nicely as is the tension between ron & harmione.Harry & ginny do happen to steal a few moments in between the madness that is unfolding around them.It is all very credible and nicely done in the movie, still it leaves a lot to be desired. The film loses out between showing the love story or showing the action story : and in trying to show both on a equal footing falls flat on both accounts.
The sequence of attack on weasely home seemed forced & out of place with harry & ginny fighting off dementors on their own. The scene where they fight the dementors could be handled in more deft ways. Maybe i am turning greedy in here for i disired to see more of the duel than is shown.
The four parallel story lines of harry getting the half blood princes book, love affairs, his trying to get the memory of slughorn & harry's education with dumbledore proceed well. Each is taken care off with the love & memory taking prominence and hijacking the movie. The child hood scenes of tom riddle are handled nicely thought the menace is missing.The whole movie has only this much of voldermort's appearance.
The quiddatch matches have also been shown & for once someone else than harry takes centre stage. And then towards the end the film lights up again. It's at the entrance of the cave when harry & dumbledore stand on a rock with sea all around: that u admire the breadth taking view & vision of director (yates probably). The finding of fake horcrux in the end scene is brilliantly done.BUT the same cannot be said of the scene of dumbledore's killing & after.The death eaters come & leave the hogwart's ground without any fight except the 10 second duel with harry at the fag end of the movie.
The film is brilliant in parts but some how the summation leaves a lot to be desired.I, for one, feel that the last installment was much better than this movie.Now with the news that the last part of the movies will be split into two movies i am hoping that they will be better than this and not just a premise to extend the money minting machine.When last heard the movie studio is on the lookout for overcoming the James Bond franchise ( 22 films for some $5 billion odd versus the 5 films of potter for $4.25 billion leaving this out).
Let's see what the future brings!
The rushes of 2012 look brilliant. This is a film by the director of day after tomorrow,Independence day,godzilla,patriot etc, Mr Rolland Emmerich. It explores the premise that world will encounter a catastrophe in the year 2012. Let's see how the film turns out.
Friday, July 17, 2009
MBTI & Me ( INTP)
Took the Myer-Briggs type indicator quiz today and found something about me.After answering about 70 odd questions the result was : You're an INTP.So curious about the fact that what does INTP stand for I started digging the net. Now internet is a wonderful place for satisfying all your curiosity.Just enter anything in google and you have more results than what u will read in your entire lifetime. So after searching for INTP definitions i found out that INTP's are a bit of a rare profile.First the definitions:
# I – Introversion preferred to Extraversion: INTPs tend to be quiet and reserved. They generally prefer interacting with a few close friends rather than a wide circle of acquaintances, and they expend energy in social situations (whereas extraverts gain energy).
# N – iNtuition preferred to Sensing: INTPs tend to be more abstract than concrete. They focus their attention on the big picture rather than the details, and on future possibilities rather than immediate realities.
# T – Thinking preferred to Feeling: INTPs tend to value objective criteria above personal preference. When making decisions, they generally give more weight to logic than to social considerations.
# P – Perception preferred to Judgment: INTPs tend to withhold judgment and delay important decisions, preferring to "keep their options open" should circumstances change. [Wikipedia]
INTP types are quiet by undying skeptics. They are mainly interested in new ideas and have little concern for parties or small talk. They can, however, become quite talkative about a topic they've recently studied. Their logic cuts directly to the core issue of any problem.
"INTPs are relatively easy-going and amenable to most anything until their principles are violated, about which they may become outspoken and inflexible. They prefer to return, however, to a reserved albeit benign ambiance, not wishing to make spectacles of themselves."
- INTP Profile (TypeLogic)
"The INTP is above all a thinker and his inner (private) world is a place governed by a strong sense of logical structure. Every experience is to be rigorously analysed, the task of the INTP's mind is to fit each encountered idea or experience into a larger structure defined by logic."
- An INTP Profile (intp.org)
"INTPs live in the world of theoretical possibilities. They see everything in terms of how it could be improved, or what it could be turned into. They live primarily inside their own minds, having the ability to analyze difficult problems, identify patterns, and come up with logical explanations. They seek clarity in everything, and are therefore driven to build knowledge. They are the "absent-minded professors", who highly value intelligence and the ability to apply logic to theories to find solutions."
- Portrait of an INTP (The Personality Page)
"INTPs contribute a logical, system-building approach to their work. They like being the architect of a plan, because of the scheming and thinking involved, far more than being the implementer of that plan. Implementation tends to be drudgery. They are content to sit back and think about what might work, given their view of the situation. INTPs may ignore standard operating procedures. The hours that they spend are not what is important to them, but rather the completion of their thought process"
- INTP - The Wizard (Lifexplore)
"likes solitude, not revealing, unemotional, rule breaker, avoidant, familiar with the darkside, skeptical, acts without consulting others"
- Jung Type Descriptions (INTP) (similarminds.com)
Also some of the great personalities with whom i share the type are:
* Abraham Lincoln - American President
* Albert Einstein - German physicist
* Blaise Pascal - French mathematician
* Carl Jung - Swiss psychiatrist
* Charles Darwin - English naturalist
* Gerald Ford - American President
* James Madison - American President
* John Quincy Adams - American President
* John Tyler - American President
* Meryl Streep - actress
* Rene Descartes - French philosopher
* Socrates - Greek philosopher
* William Harvey - medical doctor
* William James - American psychologist
An illustrative list indeed.Now some of the explanations were spot on.On a humorous note :
You know you're an Intp when...
1.You uphold the beleif that it is possible to be perfectly social wihtout actually speaking.
2.More often than not, you bow your head while walking, and are an expert at 'crowd dodging'
3. You indulge in, and are quite renowned among friends for, making completely random, yet very accurate observations.
4.You think about the very thing which you are not doing.
5.If wikipedia was a person, you would marry it. If possible, you would download the internet into your mind.(and have probably tried)
6.You frequently entertain the thought that you can make peoples heads explode simply by concentrating pure hatred on them.
Or at least, you wish it were so.
7.You often fantasise about being part of a wordlwide virtual reality, or becoming an all powerful demigod,or something of the like.
8.When sitting on any public chair which has more than one sight sideby side, you kindly make sure that your dearest -whatever you're carrying- has a seat to itself.
9.No-one* finds you funny but yourself, and despite this, you are always trying to make clever jokes that no-one gets.
10.You have spent a whole night of not sleeping, pondering something, and then after asking someone about it the next day, realise that you're the only one which seems to care.
Now this was the summation that was needed. Apart from being humorous it succinctly does describe the few oddities that i find in my personality. But also bear in mind the zen proverb : No one steps in the same river twice. i.e. one is always in the state of flux. So though the type indicators ( there are 16 in fact ) describe something about you they are not the boundaries within which you have to live. Man is a creation that can go beyond and many in fact do so.
But for the moment a step has been taken in the direction of knowing oneself and for this reason alone everyone should take this test.
# I – Introversion preferred to Extraversion: INTPs tend to be quiet and reserved. They generally prefer interacting with a few close friends rather than a wide circle of acquaintances, and they expend energy in social situations (whereas extraverts gain energy).
# N – iNtuition preferred to Sensing: INTPs tend to be more abstract than concrete. They focus their attention on the big picture rather than the details, and on future possibilities rather than immediate realities.
# T – Thinking preferred to Feeling: INTPs tend to value objective criteria above personal preference. When making decisions, they generally give more weight to logic than to social considerations.
# P – Perception preferred to Judgment: INTPs tend to withhold judgment and delay important decisions, preferring to "keep their options open" should circumstances change. [Wikipedia]
INTP types are quiet by undying skeptics. They are mainly interested in new ideas and have little concern for parties or small talk. They can, however, become quite talkative about a topic they've recently studied. Their logic cuts directly to the core issue of any problem.
"INTPs are relatively easy-going and amenable to most anything until their principles are violated, about which they may become outspoken and inflexible. They prefer to return, however, to a reserved albeit benign ambiance, not wishing to make spectacles of themselves."
- INTP Profile (TypeLogic)
"The INTP is above all a thinker and his inner (private) world is a place governed by a strong sense of logical structure. Every experience is to be rigorously analysed, the task of the INTP's mind is to fit each encountered idea or experience into a larger structure defined by logic."
- An INTP Profile (intp.org)
"INTPs live in the world of theoretical possibilities. They see everything in terms of how it could be improved, or what it could be turned into. They live primarily inside their own minds, having the ability to analyze difficult problems, identify patterns, and come up with logical explanations. They seek clarity in everything, and are therefore driven to build knowledge. They are the "absent-minded professors", who highly value intelligence and the ability to apply logic to theories to find solutions."
- Portrait of an INTP (The Personality Page)
"INTPs contribute a logical, system-building approach to their work. They like being the architect of a plan, because of the scheming and thinking involved, far more than being the implementer of that plan. Implementation tends to be drudgery. They are content to sit back and think about what might work, given their view of the situation. INTPs may ignore standard operating procedures. The hours that they spend are not what is important to them, but rather the completion of their thought process"
- INTP - The Wizard (Lifexplore)
"likes solitude, not revealing, unemotional, rule breaker, avoidant, familiar with the darkside, skeptical, acts without consulting others"
- Jung Type Descriptions (INTP) (similarminds.com)
Also some of the great personalities with whom i share the type are:
* Abraham Lincoln - American President
* Albert Einstein - German physicist
* Blaise Pascal - French mathematician
* Carl Jung - Swiss psychiatrist
* Charles Darwin - English naturalist
* Gerald Ford - American President
* James Madison - American President
* John Quincy Adams - American President
* John Tyler - American President
* Meryl Streep - actress
* Rene Descartes - French philosopher
* Socrates - Greek philosopher
* William Harvey - medical doctor
* William James - American psychologist
An illustrative list indeed.Now some of the explanations were spot on.On a humorous note :
You know you're an Intp when...
1.You uphold the beleif that it is possible to be perfectly social wihtout actually speaking.
2.More often than not, you bow your head while walking, and are an expert at 'crowd dodging'
3. You indulge in, and are quite renowned among friends for, making completely random, yet very accurate observations.
4.You think about the very thing which you are not doing.
5.If wikipedia was a person, you would marry it. If possible, you would download the internet into your mind.(and have probably tried)
6.You frequently entertain the thought that you can make peoples heads explode simply by concentrating pure hatred on them.
Or at least, you wish it were so.
7.You often fantasise about being part of a wordlwide virtual reality, or becoming an all powerful demigod,or something of the like.
8.When sitting on any public chair which has more than one sight sideby side, you kindly make sure that your dearest -whatever you're carrying- has a seat to itself.
9.No-one* finds you funny but yourself, and despite this, you are always trying to make clever jokes that no-one gets.
10.You have spent a whole night of not sleeping, pondering something, and then after asking someone about it the next day, realise that you're the only one which seems to care.
Now this was the summation that was needed. Apart from being humorous it succinctly does describe the few oddities that i find in my personality. But also bear in mind the zen proverb : No one steps in the same river twice. i.e. one is always in the state of flux. So though the type indicators ( there are 16 in fact ) describe something about you they are not the boundaries within which you have to live. Man is a creation that can go beyond and many in fact do so.
But for the moment a step has been taken in the direction of knowing oneself and for this reason alone everyone should take this test.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Are you ready for Google operating system?
The ubiquitus Google that we are so used to seeing in our daily lives has decided to come out with yet another product that will see it making deeper inroads into the lives of digital netizens. Google, for now has decided to come out with an operating system for the netbooks named chrome OS after its 30 million strong chrome browser. Google says that the OS is an extension of its browser. Also note that netbooks are being sold like hot cakes even in this time of recession and many feel that netbooks are the future.
Google has already developed an open-source operating system called Android that is used in mobile phones. It is too early to say anything about the software at this moment but it is being looked as a major alternative.
Chrome OS fits Google’s Internet-centric vision of computing. Google believes that software delivered over the Web will play an increasingly central role, replacing software programs that run on the desktop. In that world, applications run directly inside an Internet browser, rather than atop an operating system, the standard software that controls most of the operations of a PC. The world will belong to clud computing according to some.
Here's an entry from official google blog:
" Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We're designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates."
All this is indeed a bad news for Microsoft. Microsoft's vista has been found wanting in netbooks, instead it prefers heavier systems to run. Intel is also said to be developing a linux based operating system named Moblin. And with chrome OS on anvil, things may start getting tougher for Microsoft.
I for even one moment do not doubt that microsoft will continue playing its role as the leading software manufacturer in the decades to come. Though it may goof up in identifying new markets ( a feat that should come naturally to them) like they did in the case of online search and netbooks, though it may not be very nimble on its feet, but it means business when it gets down to do anything. Hotmail and the new search engine Bing being a case in point. It is still being shiped in 90% of the computers being sold today. So in any case Microsoft is not going to go away rather we will see the market being fragmented into few other categories. Google will create its own market from the tech savvy geeks but it will find the road getting tougher. It should be like the search engine case in reverse with microsoft being the major player commanding a majority share and the rest of the spoils divided into the other contenders including google.
I base my fact on the simple assumption that whole world isn't going on the net anytime soon. Cloud computing may well be the future but it is not the present. The enablers & infrastructure are not in place. 2/3 rd of the world population can still be classified as living below digital line and this ain't gonna change anytime soon. Plus the future will see competition from palmtops with 3G technology playing a major role.( As one can proceed to the latest in technology without going thru the intermediate steps thereby saving some currency and time for the country).WE may very well live on the mobile world and have Android as our OS.
But till then microsoft would do!
Google has already developed an open-source operating system called Android that is used in mobile phones. It is too early to say anything about the software at this moment but it is being looked as a major alternative.
Chrome OS fits Google’s Internet-centric vision of computing. Google believes that software delivered over the Web will play an increasingly central role, replacing software programs that run on the desktop. In that world, applications run directly inside an Internet browser, rather than atop an operating system, the standard software that controls most of the operations of a PC. The world will belong to clud computing according to some.
Here's an entry from official google blog:
" Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We're designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates."
All this is indeed a bad news for Microsoft. Microsoft's vista has been found wanting in netbooks, instead it prefers heavier systems to run. Intel is also said to be developing a linux based operating system named Moblin. And with chrome OS on anvil, things may start getting tougher for Microsoft.
I for even one moment do not doubt that microsoft will continue playing its role as the leading software manufacturer in the decades to come. Though it may goof up in identifying new markets ( a feat that should come naturally to them) like they did in the case of online search and netbooks, though it may not be very nimble on its feet, but it means business when it gets down to do anything. Hotmail and the new search engine Bing being a case in point. It is still being shiped in 90% of the computers being sold today. So in any case Microsoft is not going to go away rather we will see the market being fragmented into few other categories. Google will create its own market from the tech savvy geeks but it will find the road getting tougher. It should be like the search engine case in reverse with microsoft being the major player commanding a majority share and the rest of the spoils divided into the other contenders including google.
I base my fact on the simple assumption that whole world isn't going on the net anytime soon. Cloud computing may well be the future but it is not the present. The enablers & infrastructure are not in place. 2/3 rd of the world population can still be classified as living below digital line and this ain't gonna change anytime soon. Plus the future will see competition from palmtops with 3G technology playing a major role.( As one can proceed to the latest in technology without going thru the intermediate steps thereby saving some currency and time for the country).WE may very well live on the mobile world and have Android as our OS.
But till then microsoft would do!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Shravan, Shiva & the journey from Sultanganj to Deoghar
Q:> Which is the holiest month for the Hindus, Watson?, asked Holmes!
A:> Jolly Goodness! I don't know that for us Brits & you expect me to answer that.
=============================================================================
Well the conversation happened in my imagination but I am willing to ask the same question to many of our friends and I do expect an answer.
The month of Shravan , or Shravana Mas, is supposed to be the holiest month. In fact Shravan Month is also the first month in the Chatur Mas - four holy months. Though the whole month is considered sacred, the most famous and the most special place is reserved for the Mondays in Shravan month which is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The month is so sacred that many north indians give up taking non-veg and garlic and onions during the period. One can also find many people (esp. girls) observing the famous Somvar Vrat( Fast on Monday, in search for a good soulmate). The Shravan Month this year begins on July 8 and ends on August 6.
One can know that the month has started, from the sudden urge of people to start wearing orange coloured robe and the rush to offer water & milk in Shiva temple.
The whole of north india as if by a miracle turns saintly in sight, and the national news channels will be seen in a frenzy to cover the event. Many cities will see worsening of traffic, but it is also the month when the faith of millions of people comes alive and pulsating into our lives and we are forced to respect the faith!
The legend ( there are many in India) says that when the churning of oceans - Samudra Manthan - took place in the month of Shravan, and fourteen different types of things came out. Thirteen of these were distributed amongst the devs & demons, except Halahal (poison). Nobody was ready to touch it, while it played havoc with the ecosystem. Lord Shiva, being of a kind heart, drank the poison and stored it in his throat. Since then he is called as Neelkantha (meaning blue throat).
To reduce the strong effect of poison, Lord Shiva wore the crescent moon on his head. Moon, or chandrma is seen to be of a cool character (sheetal). All the Gods, thereafter started offering the Ganges water to Lord Shiva to make lessen the effect of poison. Since, this happened in the month of Shravana, since then the Shiva devotees offer the Ganges water in this month. Well you know how these legends go!!
Well this month is truly auspicious and the first monday of the month is considered most sacred by the devotees of Lord Shiva. Since I spend my childhood years at Deoghar, I have come to know a bit about the length the devotees go through to see Lord Shiva.The importance of Babadham ( Deoghar )increases during the month of Shrawan. During this period, lakhs of devotees throng the Baba Baidyanath temple.
But many among them first go to Sultanganj, where the Ganges flows to the North, about 109 kms away from Babadham.(Babadham, Baidyanath Dham, Deoghar, Jasidih and Ravaneshwar mahadev are some of the name for the place). It is from this place (sultanganj) that the devotees collect water in their kanwars and carry the holy Ganges water, with the kanwars on their shoulders. They walk 109 km up to Baba Baidyanath temple at Babadham reciting Bol Bam on the way.
On reaching Babadham, the kanwarias first take a dip in the Shivaganga to purify themselves, and then enter the Baba Baidyanath temple, where the Ganges water is offered to the Jyotirlingam. It is said that while on way to lanka with the Shivlinga, Ravana felt a strong urge to pee. But he could not keep the Shivlinga on ground, otherwise it would stay there. Finding a brahmin ( Vishnu in disguise), he handed over the Shivling to him and went to relieve himself. The brahmin in the absence of ravana kept the Linga there itself. Ravana on coming back saw the Ling on the ground and tried lifting it again but could not do so. So in anger he pressed the Shivalinga to the ground by his thumb.
This pilgrimage continues during the whole of Shravan for 30 days, during July-August. This is supposed to be the longest religious fair in the world. The sight on the way from Sultanganj to Babadham is of a 109 km long human chain of saffron clad pilgrims. It is estimated that within this period of one month around 50 to 55 lakhs pilgrims visit Babadham.
Lord Somnath is in the country Saurashtra, Mallikarjuna is on the Shree Shailam,
Mahakala is in Ujjayani, Parameshwar belongs to Onkar,
Kedar in the mountain of Himalaya, Bhimashankar is in the country of Dakini,
Viswesh belongs to Varanasi, the Lord Trayam bakam resides on the shore of Gautami river,
Baidyanath lies on the land of ashes and the Lord of snake lives in the wooden forest.
Lord Rama stays near the sea where it was bridged by him and Lord of Ghushma resides in the abode of Shiva.
If one recites the twelve names in the early morning,
he will get rid of all sins and will get all fruits of his efforts.
Thus the abode of Baidyanath Jyotirlingam is a very ancient sacred place of India. It is one of the twelve Jyotirlinga kshetra in India. It is also one of 52 peethas. The question of Pithas is associated with Devi Bhagwat, Kubjika Tantra, Kalika Rahasyam, Mundmal Tantra and Rudrayamalam etc. This holy shrine is famous as Chitabhumi.
Baidyanath Jyotirlingam is a great power, gracing great effects. The result of His greatness is the page of Deoghar Jail's history. In British India a jailor was posted at Deoghar. As ill luck would have it he was facing misfortune. His son was missing in a sea together with his ship. Jailor was upset and he did not pay proper attention to his work. He was advised by his staff to meditate and worship Baidyanath as God is famous for fulfilling one's desires. He began to meditate upon Baidyanath Jyotirlingam. Miracles took place. Suddenly news come, he is alive and ship is alright. Since then he started a tradition in the Deoghar Jail and 'Phool Kaman' was created to gather flowers and Vilva Patras for worshipping Lord Baidyanath. Even today the garlands and snake made of wood and flowers is made by prisoners of deoghar jail daily and it is used in the morning Aarti.
I also had an oppurtunity once to go on kanwar mission but being unsure of my strength and my fate I declined the full journey and instead agreed for ony about 30 odd kilometers. Even that was nothing less than climbing a mountain for me. But the line of saffron clad kanwarias and their shout of Bol Bum kept me going. The biggest problem came when we entered the town of Deoghar and the temple was hardly 2 kms away. Then it seemed as if all the tiredness came in one swoop and taking a single step was a great challange. Yet somehow we persisted. And for good too! The feeling that you get when you stand in front of the Linga & meditate... all sorrows stand away, nothing touches you and for an instant you do feel that you came in contact with Mahadev.
Meaning:
Shri Mahadeva said ...
Whoever meditates for a minute, even he is rogue, and he will be graced for all time to come.
One should worship Baidyanath forever. What to speak of his fruits! Even Brahma, the god of creation, fails to appreciate Him.
A:> Jolly Goodness! I don't know that for us Brits & you expect me to answer that.
=============================================================================
Well the conversation happened in my imagination but I am willing to ask the same question to many of our friends and I do expect an answer.
The month of Shravan , or Shravana Mas, is supposed to be the holiest month. In fact Shravan Month is also the first month in the Chatur Mas - four holy months. Though the whole month is considered sacred, the most famous and the most special place is reserved for the Mondays in Shravan month which is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The month is so sacred that many north indians give up taking non-veg and garlic and onions during the period. One can also find many people (esp. girls) observing the famous Somvar Vrat( Fast on Monday, in search for a good soulmate). The Shravan Month this year begins on July 8 and ends on August 6.
One can know that the month has started, from the sudden urge of people to start wearing orange coloured robe and the rush to offer water & milk in Shiva temple.
The whole of north india as if by a miracle turns saintly in sight, and the national news channels will be seen in a frenzy to cover the event. Many cities will see worsening of traffic, but it is also the month when the faith of millions of people comes alive and pulsating into our lives and we are forced to respect the faith!
The legend ( there are many in India) says that when the churning of oceans - Samudra Manthan - took place in the month of Shravan, and fourteen different types of things came out. Thirteen of these were distributed amongst the devs & demons, except Halahal (poison). Nobody was ready to touch it, while it played havoc with the ecosystem. Lord Shiva, being of a kind heart, drank the poison and stored it in his throat. Since then he is called as Neelkantha (meaning blue throat).
To reduce the strong effect of poison, Lord Shiva wore the crescent moon on his head. Moon, or chandrma is seen to be of a cool character (sheetal). All the Gods, thereafter started offering the Ganges water to Lord Shiva to make lessen the effect of poison. Since, this happened in the month of Shravana, since then the Shiva devotees offer the Ganges water in this month. Well you know how these legends go!!
Well this month is truly auspicious and the first monday of the month is considered most sacred by the devotees of Lord Shiva. Since I spend my childhood years at Deoghar, I have come to know a bit about the length the devotees go through to see Lord Shiva.The importance of Babadham ( Deoghar )increases during the month of Shrawan. During this period, lakhs of devotees throng the Baba Baidyanath temple.
But many among them first go to Sultanganj, where the Ganges flows to the North, about 109 kms away from Babadham.(Babadham, Baidyanath Dham, Deoghar, Jasidih and Ravaneshwar mahadev are some of the name for the place). It is from this place (sultanganj) that the devotees collect water in their kanwars and carry the holy Ganges water, with the kanwars on their shoulders. They walk 109 km up to Baba Baidyanath temple at Babadham reciting Bol Bam on the way.
On reaching Babadham, the kanwarias first take a dip in the Shivaganga to purify themselves, and then enter the Baba Baidyanath temple, where the Ganges water is offered to the Jyotirlingam. It is said that while on way to lanka with the Shivlinga, Ravana felt a strong urge to pee. But he could not keep the Shivlinga on ground, otherwise it would stay there. Finding a brahmin ( Vishnu in disguise), he handed over the Shivling to him and went to relieve himself. The brahmin in the absence of ravana kept the Linga there itself. Ravana on coming back saw the Ling on the ground and tried lifting it again but could not do so. So in anger he pressed the Shivalinga to the ground by his thumb.
This pilgrimage continues during the whole of Shravan for 30 days, during July-August. This is supposed to be the longest religious fair in the world. The sight on the way from Sultanganj to Babadham is of a 109 km long human chain of saffron clad pilgrims. It is estimated that within this period of one month around 50 to 55 lakhs pilgrims visit Babadham.
Lord Somnath is in the country Saurashtra, Mallikarjuna is on the Shree Shailam,
Mahakala is in Ujjayani, Parameshwar belongs to Onkar,
Kedar in the mountain of Himalaya, Bhimashankar is in the country of Dakini,
Viswesh belongs to Varanasi, the Lord Trayam bakam resides on the shore of Gautami river,
Baidyanath lies on the land of ashes and the Lord of snake lives in the wooden forest.
Lord Rama stays near the sea where it was bridged by him and Lord of Ghushma resides in the abode of Shiva.
If one recites the twelve names in the early morning,
he will get rid of all sins and will get all fruits of his efforts.
Thus the abode of Baidyanath Jyotirlingam is a very ancient sacred place of India. It is one of the twelve Jyotirlinga kshetra in India. It is also one of 52 peethas. The question of Pithas is associated with Devi Bhagwat, Kubjika Tantra, Kalika Rahasyam, Mundmal Tantra and Rudrayamalam etc. This holy shrine is famous as Chitabhumi.
Baidyanath Jyotirlingam is a great power, gracing great effects. The result of His greatness is the page of Deoghar Jail's history. In British India a jailor was posted at Deoghar. As ill luck would have it he was facing misfortune. His son was missing in a sea together with his ship. Jailor was upset and he did not pay proper attention to his work. He was advised by his staff to meditate and worship Baidyanath as God is famous for fulfilling one's desires. He began to meditate upon Baidyanath Jyotirlingam. Miracles took place. Suddenly news come, he is alive and ship is alright. Since then he started a tradition in the Deoghar Jail and 'Phool Kaman' was created to gather flowers and Vilva Patras for worshipping Lord Baidyanath. Even today the garlands and snake made of wood and flowers is made by prisoners of deoghar jail daily and it is used in the morning Aarti.
I also had an oppurtunity once to go on kanwar mission but being unsure of my strength and my fate I declined the full journey and instead agreed for ony about 30 odd kilometers. Even that was nothing less than climbing a mountain for me. But the line of saffron clad kanwarias and their shout of Bol Bum kept me going. The biggest problem came when we entered the town of Deoghar and the temple was hardly 2 kms away. Then it seemed as if all the tiredness came in one swoop and taking a single step was a great challange. Yet somehow we persisted. And for good too! The feeling that you get when you stand in front of the Linga & meditate... all sorrows stand away, nothing touches you and for an instant you do feel that you came in contact with Mahadev.
Meaning:
Shri Mahadeva said ...
Whoever meditates for a minute, even he is rogue, and he will be graced for all time to come.
One should worship Baidyanath forever. What to speak of his fruits! Even Brahma, the god of creation, fails to appreciate Him.
Guru Poornima
Poornima in hindi symbolises the full moon aspect.The day when moon becomes whole again. And GURU is made from 2 root words : Gu stands for ignorance, and Ru stands for destroyer. So what does these two words mean when they come together? Well for one they symbolise a day when we become whole again thru the grace of Guru who destroys our sins in form of ignorance and illuminates our inner being with higher truth and light.
The Guru Poornima is a tribute to all the Gurus of the world...but it is more so in the rememberance of Vyas who is said to have edited the four Vedas, written the 18 Puranas, the Mahabharata and the Srimad Bhagavata. Vyasa even taught Dattatreya, who is regarded as the Guru of Gurus.(As he was born on the full moon day in the month of Aashaada, this day is celebrated as Vyasa-poornima). And also to Gautam the Buddha, who attained enlightenment on this day under a banyan tree in Bodhgaya, and who showed us that we could all become Buddha by destroying our desires.
Sw Shivananda writes, "It was not without reason that the India of the past carefully tended and kept alive the lamp of Guru-Tattva. It is therefore not without reason that India, year after year, age after age, commemorates anew this ancient concept of the Guru, adores it and pays homage to it again and again, and thereby re-affirms its belief and allegiance to it. For, the true Indian knows that the Guru is the only guarantee for the individual to transcend the bondage of sorrow and death, and experience the Consciousness of the Reality."
Two very important shlokas showing the place of a guru in hindu parlance are:
1. Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu Guru Devo Maheswara Guru Sakshath Para Brahma Thasmai Shri Gurave Namaha
Guru is all the forms of Brahma, Vishnu & Mahesh: creator, sustainer and destroyer. He is the end and means in itself, he is most high (ParamBrahma)and we bow to such a guru!
2.Dhyaana moolam guror murtih;
Pooja moolam guror padam;
Mantra moolam guror vakyam;
Moksha moolam guror kripa
"The Guru's form should be meditated upon; the feet of the Guru should be worshipped; his words are to be treated as a sacred Mantra; his Grace ensures final liberation".
Such is the importance of guru in our country. So on this auspicious day we should work according to our stage and limit, but we should take stock of the year gone by..how far have we traversed on the path of light or consciousness! Those of us who do not have a guru should look up and take God as their guide and pay homage to them, meditate on their form. For the agnostic friends among us, we should celebrate this day as the day of knowledge....when knowledge sets us free..we come to realise that we can be whatever we desire to be & if we work hard enough for it...that it is our destiny to be happy...The world exists for us, & not we for the world!
The least we can do is to keep the principles behind the day in our mind and try consciously better ourself from the past. In that way we will blossom into full moon and realise our true potential!
Help, not harm.
&
Arise! Awake! & stop not till the goal is reached!
The Guru Poornima is a tribute to all the Gurus of the world...but it is more so in the rememberance of Vyas who is said to have edited the four Vedas, written the 18 Puranas, the Mahabharata and the Srimad Bhagavata. Vyasa even taught Dattatreya, who is regarded as the Guru of Gurus.(As he was born on the full moon day in the month of Aashaada, this day is celebrated as Vyasa-poornima). And also to Gautam the Buddha, who attained enlightenment on this day under a banyan tree in Bodhgaya, and who showed us that we could all become Buddha by destroying our desires.
Sw Shivananda writes, "It was not without reason that the India of the past carefully tended and kept alive the lamp of Guru-Tattva. It is therefore not without reason that India, year after year, age after age, commemorates anew this ancient concept of the Guru, adores it and pays homage to it again and again, and thereby re-affirms its belief and allegiance to it. For, the true Indian knows that the Guru is the only guarantee for the individual to transcend the bondage of sorrow and death, and experience the Consciousness of the Reality."
Two very important shlokas showing the place of a guru in hindu parlance are:
1. Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu Guru Devo Maheswara Guru Sakshath Para Brahma Thasmai Shri Gurave Namaha
Guru is all the forms of Brahma, Vishnu & Mahesh: creator, sustainer and destroyer. He is the end and means in itself, he is most high (ParamBrahma)and we bow to such a guru!
2.Dhyaana moolam guror murtih;
Pooja moolam guror padam;
Mantra moolam guror vakyam;
Moksha moolam guror kripa
"The Guru's form should be meditated upon; the feet of the Guru should be worshipped; his words are to be treated as a sacred Mantra; his Grace ensures final liberation".
Such is the importance of guru in our country. So on this auspicious day we should work according to our stage and limit, but we should take stock of the year gone by..how far have we traversed on the path of light or consciousness! Those of us who do not have a guru should look up and take God as their guide and pay homage to them, meditate on their form. For the agnostic friends among us, we should celebrate this day as the day of knowledge....when knowledge sets us free..we come to realise that we can be whatever we desire to be & if we work hard enough for it...that it is our destiny to be happy...The world exists for us, & not we for the world!
The least we can do is to keep the principles behind the day in our mind and try consciously better ourself from the past. In that way we will blossom into full moon and realise our true potential!
Help, not harm.
&
Arise! Awake! & stop not till the goal is reached!
Monday, July 6, 2009
Summers!
Say summer to anyone and what kind of response do you get? That time of year when Indians suffer the most.( They suffer in all seasons though!). Ask a child and he will tell you it is the best time of the year minus the holiday homework.But what does summer mean to people like me? A student to boot, that too a management one. This in itself is the highest pedestal one can hope reaching in the country. It is supposed to be the shortcut to success...multi lakhs salaries...good life & all that! At least for the decent college pass outs.
Summers is the testing ground for people like us. It can make us or it can mar us, what it doesn't do is to give us the luxury of choice. Especially this year. The sub-prime crisis was bad for people like us. One who is an admirer of globalisation processes at work need not look any further for my argument against it. Yes, I have started feeling bad about the globalisation process after my inability to find a decent company with decent pay for the summer work. Oh, I know one should be willing to work for free and all stuff like that...But in my city there is a saying that "Bhuke bhajan na hoye GOPALA!", and I have come to realize the wisdom behind it after working on the project in the sweltering heat without any allowance!
But everything is is fair in love & war and getting a place where you are willing to work is nothing short of a war. So it was a valuable experience to work for two months on a project, to see things from management's perspective. The biggest change which i found in myself was changing my view from micro management to macro management. One can not do without the other, both are necessary evils. But looking at things from a macro point of view does give you something to talk about. To give you an analogy, its like looking at planet earth from the space as the home of life... But your understanding is not complete untill you come to earth and see the other processes at work that go on to make life possible on earth... i.e. you see things micro...
Now back to summers. The experience also taught me that more the things change the more they remain the same. Just go to any company in the rural part or away from metros and you will find age old management practices at work. The Indian way of doing things is seen everywhere :"JUGAAD" is the magic word. How do these companies survive is also beyond me! Well change is happening, people have started asking questions about quality etc., but the process is very slow. By that token it would take India another 50 to 60 years to think on the same platform as the world...
It's as if two India exists side by side...one at the cutting edge of evolution like telecom... and the other part which has inbuilt inefficiencies...still provides employment to over 80% India.... It's sad and even baffling to see the two India's exist peacefully side by side...but for how long????
So now at the end of my summer trial by fire..Have I changed?...Has it brought some wisdom?....Not on the surface...but each happening does teach you somethng.. it's upto you whether you learn something from it or not...
In that way I would always remember summer of 2009...Adieu!
Summers is the testing ground for people like us. It can make us or it can mar us, what it doesn't do is to give us the luxury of choice. Especially this year. The sub-prime crisis was bad for people like us. One who is an admirer of globalisation processes at work need not look any further for my argument against it. Yes, I have started feeling bad about the globalisation process after my inability to find a decent company with decent pay for the summer work. Oh, I know one should be willing to work for free and all stuff like that...But in my city there is a saying that "Bhuke bhajan na hoye GOPALA!", and I have come to realize the wisdom behind it after working on the project in the sweltering heat without any allowance!
But everything is is fair in love & war and getting a place where you are willing to work is nothing short of a war. So it was a valuable experience to work for two months on a project, to see things from management's perspective. The biggest change which i found in myself was changing my view from micro management to macro management. One can not do without the other, both are necessary evils. But looking at things from a macro point of view does give you something to talk about. To give you an analogy, its like looking at planet earth from the space as the home of life... But your understanding is not complete untill you come to earth and see the other processes at work that go on to make life possible on earth... i.e. you see things micro...
Now back to summers. The experience also taught me that more the things change the more they remain the same. Just go to any company in the rural part or away from metros and you will find age old management practices at work. The Indian way of doing things is seen everywhere :"JUGAAD" is the magic word. How do these companies survive is also beyond me! Well change is happening, people have started asking questions about quality etc., but the process is very slow. By that token it would take India another 50 to 60 years to think on the same platform as the world...
It's as if two India exists side by side...one at the cutting edge of evolution like telecom... and the other part which has inbuilt inefficiencies...still provides employment to over 80% India.... It's sad and even baffling to see the two India's exist peacefully side by side...but for how long????
So now at the end of my summer trial by fire..Have I changed?...Has it brought some wisdom?....Not on the surface...but each happening does teach you somethng.. it's upto you whether you learn something from it or not...
In that way I would always remember summer of 2009...Adieu!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
