Chotto Mind's Blog

SOPA & PIPA Gone

2012-01-27T18:35:00.004-05:00

After the controversial SOPA bill had gone down the drain, what has happened to its lobbyists?

How My Web Days Are Going

2011-09-02T12:41:00.000-04:00

How are you passing your days?

Movie Review: Noukadubi

2011-08-13T07:02:00.001-04:00

Noukadubi Poster

It is always considered a major struggle to turn a classic novel into a movie and it is always difficult to turn one of Bengal's prominent author's novesl into a motion picture. That is what Noukadubi (Boat Wreck) is, written by Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel laureate in literature. Director Rituporno Ghosh, who has already experimented with various classical novels, has made Noukadubi into a two-language film, both Bengali and Hindi. Ramesh, the protagonist of the film faces dilemma all throughout the movie. When his father calls him home from the village to for an arranged marriage, he faces dilemma from his love, Hemnalini. The two granddaughters of the great-Bengal actress Suchitra Sen plays the role of Hemnalini and Ramesh's married wife, Kamala. When they are on their way to return to Calcutta, the name of the film is visually seen by the viewers. This single incident brings confusion in Ramesh's life when he has to live it with an unknown girl that he had not married but is forced to show that she is his wife.
To the viewers, this confusion might seem awkward at first. Mostly towards the foreigners it might seem not common for a wife to not see the face of her husband during marriage and even after until they are alone. This is the common action done by ordinary Indians during the early 1900s and before. This period film depicts whether true love will finally triumph.
The reviews of Noukadubi were seen in newspapers such as The Telegraph from Calcutta, claiming that the movie tries to visualize how "the shiny ball called love wants to roll into the right pockets but keeps getting deflected by the rusted pins of life."
That is exactly that brings audience to the silver screen; to experience lights into Rabindranath Tagore's works and to see how love can play a role in the life of a person.

First published: http://blogcritics.org/video/article/movie-review-noukadubi/

Deadline: For the Politicians & Other Careers

2011-07-27T14:57:00.000-04:00

What would the Congress face if the debt limit is not passed by August 2nd? For me, it is difficult to say; rather I would list what a deadline would mean for each career.

Student: a project or homework deadline would mean that anything after that deadline is late. That homework/project would be graded differently. If that is the first assignment from the teacher from the school year, then the teacher would start to look at the student that has handed in the project/homework late or did not hand it in at all. This might cause the student to receive a failing grade.
Chemist: failing to give in the research report by the deadline would most likely mean a fire for the chemist. Even if that is not the case, he would have to go through higher authority of the company looking over his work for a really long period of time.
Cost estimator: a cost estimator failing to "estimate" the cost would mean he does not want the job. He would better look for another job because he is getting fired.
Designer: failing to submit the design of clothing, website or any other type of object would mean that the designer is putting extra work into the project. He is devoted and an extraordinary project is expected from him/her.
Doctor: a doctor failing a due date (for example of a surgery) would mean the person with heart condition (if they had heart conditions) to be dead because the doctor could not coupe with the deadline that was posted.
Lawyer: a lawyer not presenting sufficient information before the deadline of a case would make the lawyer lose the case. In the bar association, he would receive poor reputation.
Professional Athlete: a professional athlete not submitting the forms for an entry to one of the competition would ultimately lead the athlete to not compete at all even if that athlete is one that everyone knows about.
Reporter: a reporter not submitting an article on deadline might cause the reporter to get fired from the job.
Teacher: a teacher not submitting the grades of his/her students before the deadline would cause the teacher answer questions from the school administration as well as his/her students.

And what does our politicians have to face? Do they face their own conscience or as Alexander Hamilton had said: "the Great Beast"?

Debt Limit

2011-07-07T10:20:00.000-04:00

The debt limit deal has to be reached by the beginning of August. The debt is now at 14 trillion dollars.

This clock calculates all the information on debt: http://www.usdebtclock.org/
The New York debt is: http://www.usdebtclock.org/state-debt-clocks/state-of-new-york-debt-clock.html

The World debt clock: http://www.usdebtclock.org/world-debt-clock.html

Halfway Down the IPL

2011-05-03T17:52:00.000-04:00

The Indian Premiere League now has a new chairman, replacing the previous Lalit Modi. As this happened, the look of the tournament has also changed as the matches are not getting interesting at all. The current Commissioner and the Chairman of IPL is Chirayu Amin, who has had time with monitoring and managing companies such as the Alembic Ltd., a 104 years old pharmaceutical company.

Lalit Modi, the previous Chairman and Commissioner of IPL was alleged of taking bribes and committing corruption. With the introduction of two new teams, the Pune Warriors and the Kochi Tuskers, the Chairman wanted to sell those franchises by money. The bid caused resignation of Shashi Tharoor, a minister of India which also led to the removal of Lalit Modi from the Chairman and Commissioner's position.

As this was happening, two teams were also asked to be removed. The Rajasthan Royals and the Kings XI Punjab had their franchises terminated because these franchises breached ownership rules.

Now at the halfway stage into this year's competition, questions of close matches raise. In the previous years when Modi was the Chairman and the Commissioner of IPL, matches had been much close than before. These has not been a single tie in this year's IPL yet. There has also not been a match with a 1 run victory or a 1 wicket victory. There has been one tie game in the previous year, or another tie in the previous year. This year, the wins are much greater with runs or wickets, causing everyone to believe that maybe it had some managing from the Chairman himself.

Article first published as Halfway Down the IPL on Blogcritics.

Only 10 Teams in 2015

2011-04-23T16:55:00.002-04:00

In the 2015 Cricket World Cup, the International Cricket Council is thinking about inviting only 10 countries. This would mean that only the countries with test ranking will be allowed into the World Cup. Over the internet, many countries are speaking against it. Afghanistan, Ireland, Singapore and Canada are speaking up first. Within 48 hours of the final of World Cup 2011, this decision was out. Countries like Afghanistan are the top rising stars that are rising up to compete in the upcoming world cup.

@rickeyre in Twitter commented: and if the ICC continues to limit the #Cricket World Cup to 10 teams it's an admission of their failure to create a global sport.

Now cricket Australia is saying that it is their idea to limit the number of teams in the world cup so that the game stays popular. In Australia, it is not as popular to make the weak games into the pay-per-view list. Many stadiums would be without any supporter and that would be a disaster for the ICC. Cricket Australia's spokesman said:

"Our starting point on ICC Events has always been that qualification should be based on merit. We support moving to a 10-team ICC World Cup in 2015 and longer term, support moving to ICC World Cups which are 10-team contests based on merit, (like) the top 10-ranked nations in the world. The ICC has discussed reviewing the position on 2015 and we will be an interested participant (both as an ICC member and also as a co-host) in that discussion."

Many are sending their responses to ICC's new format:

@Dylstra: I've just e-mailed @cricketicc as to why a 10-team 2015 World Cup is a horrible idea. You should too: enquiry@icc-cricket.com

As I looked over, I would consider that this was because of the Australian board which could not let Australia be in the ODI top rank.

Congratulations INDIA

2011-04-02T21:07:00.000-04:00

Maybe the whole thing was keeping the nerves.

Photos copyrighted by Cricinfo.

Pictures not only says a thousand words but the words of the hearts also.

Congrats to the Egyptians

2011-02-11T22:29:00.000-05:00

The voice of the Egyptians showed the voice of democracy. Here are few of the comments posted on Twitter after the great win:

@3arabawy: We scored big victory everyone. But we should not stop the protests and the strikes until the rest of our demands r met. #Jan25
@yslaise: Thank you Bouazizi, Khaled Said and the youth of Tunisia and Egypt, for giving me stories to teach my son about sacrifice, unity and freedom
@Ghonim:
مبروك لمصر .. المجرم غادر القصر
Congratulations Egypt…the criminal has left the palace
@ianinegypt: Mubarak steps down to Allahu Akbar ringing out in Tahrir Square. #egypt #jan25

Windows & Ubuntu

2011-01-31T21:16:00.001-05:00

For me, the final decision that I could come up with was that you would need both a Windows and an Ubuntu desktop. So any Linux or Windows cheerer, please accept the fact that time is changing for us to accept both.

Verizon Review & the Truth

2010-12-11T07:52:00.000-05:00

Speedtest.net had showered me with all the statistics I needed. Europe: 9.59mbps. North America: 8.14. Okay the United States: 9.89. Rhode Island has the highest 16.73 (I thought Rhode Island was the smallest state in the United States). Hauppauge had the highest 34.26 and second highest Geenvale with 34.78. Let me see those on the map, but sorry they were not there.
Now lets go to my location, which said it had Road Runner/Earthlink/Verizon but Verizon with 2.37mbps? No more. I looked up the headquarter for Verizon which I noticed to be in New York meaning Manhattan. But one of the major company to rise in the wireless, are they backing up with their basics, the internet? I had no clue whatsoever about Verizon's plans and what this would bring for them but I was pretty sure that it would not benefit the Verizon company as it hoped. When I had called Verizon, I heard their own technical services calling the billing section in various names. For example, when the technical service section tried to create a line for me with the billing, the technical department had to call their billing section "crap" as if these in the billing section did not do any good. I understood the problem right away because for me to talk to a technical representative took me 10+ minutes but for me to talk to a billing representative took me 30+ minutes. The good thing was that I had speaker phone so that I could put it on speaker and wait for them but for the ones who do not have speaker phone or do not know how to use it, how does Verizon feel? First they do not have the capability to provide you with that much service and then they tell you you have to wait?

Or I believe Verizon is trying to tell us something. They are trying to tell us, we do not need you. Why do you not switch to Earthlink or Road Runner?

Rationalist Says...Oops

2010-10-09T16:59:00.000-04:00

As I heard the stories from the Bible, I started to question myself about what I was hearing. Partiality, segregation, an infinite dynasty, 'fear God' and victory? How can these be implied to Christianity and rationalism? Let me get to the point, then it will all be clear. These are taken from the Old Testament, and are not to written to offend anyone.

David is the second king of the kingdom of Israel. Saul is the first king for the same kingdom.
The idea that David is chosen seems to be wrong to the fact that how can God look at each of the individuals differently? God withdrawing his favor from Saul seems to say that God was discriminating between human beings that were essentially all created by Him. Even if this is thought wrong

David's dynasty forever, then where is Doomsday?

It is noted in the Old Testament also "Fear God and keep his commandments into judgment including every secret thing for God will bring every deed into judgment including every secret thing weather good or evil".
"Fear the God", what does that seem like? Why should one "fear" God when he is supposed to be the loving and caring person?

"God will ultimately be victorious over evil and establish his kingdom forever"-- so not victorious now?
Really, what are we supposed to think about this quote? God will ultimately be victorious over evil, does that mean that he is not victorious right now? Did not he created it all and controls it all? If that is true, then it also has to be true that you don't have to be victorious. Or am I to think that God is Frankenstein who has no control over what He has created?

Still Fighting Strong & Brave

2010-09-01T19:20:00.000-04:00

Even when the President of the United States was delivering a speech to end combat in Iraq and withdraw combat troops from the region, the soldiers were fighting. The Associated Press reports "American soldiers were sealing off a northern village early Wednesday as their Iraqi partners raided houses and arrested dozens of suspected insurgents."

But an optimistic president cannot be let down by these raids. As told in a New York Times Blog by a Iraqi teacher:

“I have not heard the speech. It’s an American matter between President Obama and the people of the United States. We do not care if they withdraw or not. The important thing is that security is improved and we can live an ordinary life.”

This declares that safety and security is the main concern still lurking in Iraq's backyard, which the Americans say has vanished from the American and NATO forces in Iraq. The praises that President Obama received from the Iraqis will help in the course of action and through the time that passes with it. But in Politico, it is stated that fewer people have actually watched the speech. The report, according to Nielsen states that 29.2 million viewers were watching the speech, which is 9 percent fewer than June's oil spill speech. But the phrase that is mentioned all over the news is one, that it is "time to turn the page", and sure will it be a page turned in the history book of the United States.

Movie Review: Peepli [Live]

2010-08-24T19:29:00.002-04:00

What does the question of suicide form in our heads? Must be something serious, at least for the ones who think of death as being something serious. But Aamir Khan changed the script into one extraordinary aspect that is sure to change our aspect into farmer suicide.

Peepli [Live] is directed by Anusha Rizvi and it's producer is Aamir Khan, which means there would be seriousness even with the comedy provided in it. Think about a movie that receives 100% from Rotten Tomatoes or one that can actually achieves 4.5 out of 5 from Taran Adash. It means it has to be special in its ways, there cannot be anyone denying that.

There is the mix of Indian culture in the film, but it shows not the 90s style in movies but the Indian style that is in Madhya Pradesh, their tongue, their culture, their songs and their lifestyle. It is rated with an "A" for adult by the censor board which is because of the frequent curses that the characters speak of. But it is nothing different from the actual lifestyle that a farmer has when he is broke and a governmental loan to pay off.

That brings us to the plot, which is simple yet powerful. The plot revolves around Natha, a poor farmer from the village Peepli who would be losing his plot of land due to a unpaid government loan. A fix that is provided by the government is for the farmer to commit suicide, which Natha would commit with the help of his elder brother. But as the time for local elections comes about, a small suicide of a farmer turns into a fierce political rebel, media ramping up at the poor farmer's doorsteps. Each of the groups avenging benefits from it; the current governmental party tries to protect Natha whereas the opposition party gives him bribe to commit suicide. Natha's feelings are not realized except by himself, who in spite of all this wants to protect himself, at least who wants to have his life taken by himself?

The film has produced what one can call "the voice of villagers", the songs mix with the sound of the village, the language plays with it, and most importantly was the story, a story that cannot get better than that. It is a movie, as one of the founding father of Indian film industry, Amitabh Bachchan commented: "The film took me back to my place of birth and deposited me within the distinct atmosphere of my roots, and I loved that." It touches every man's heart, the hearts of the millions and speaks the voice of the farmers whose voice was not heard before.

যোগে কি শক্তি অর্পিত?

2010-08-22T19:13:00.000-04:00

পতঞ্জলি হচ্ছে ভারতের আদি-যোগ প্রতিষ্ঠাতা, যিনি বলেন ভগবানের কাছে আবার ফিরে যাওয়াই আমাদের লক্ষ্য। ডুয়ালিস্টিকরা মনে করেন মানুষ ভগবান থেকে এসেছে, মানুষ হিসেবে বাস করে, এবং পরে আবার ভগবানের কাছে ফিরে যায়। মনিইষ্টরা মনে করেন মানুষই ভগবান এবং তারা ভগবানের কাছে ফিরে যায়। কিন্তু প্রশ্ন হচ্ছে, এই যোগ করে কি শক্তি আমরা পেতে পারি?

স্বামী বিবেকানন্দ এই বিষয়ে তার The Complete Works of Vivekananda-তে তার উত্তর দিয়েছে, অতি সংক্ষেপে এবং আমাদের বোধগম্য করে। ধরণ হচ্ছে কোনো একটি বস্তুর প্রতি একাগ্র চিত্তে মন বসানো, যার থেকে আমরা ধ্যানে অবতরণ করি, এবং সেখান থেকে সব ছেড়ে দেবার শক্তি পেলে আমরা সমাধিতে উৎপন্ন হতে পারি। এই ধ্যান, সমাধি, ও ধরণ যখন একটি বস্তুর উপর আমরা করে থাকি, তাকে বলা হয় সংযম। যখন আমাদের চিত্ত ধ্যানে মগ্ন, বা সমাধিতে, তখন থেকে আমরা সময় বলতে আর কিছু অনুভব করি না। সেই সময় থেকেই আমরা যোগের শক্তি কি কি অনুভব করতে শুরু করি।

যখন আমরা সময়ের অধিষ্ঠানে থাকি না, তখন আমাদের এই ক্ষমতা আসে যার মাধ্যমে আমরা ভূত ও ভবিষ্যত দেখতে পারি, এবং এমন নয় যে শুধু আমাদের নিজেদের কিন্তু পুরো বিশ্বের। অতএব, তারা যদি তাদের মগ্নতাকে জোড়ালো করে, তাহলে তারা দেখতে পারে তাদের পূর্ব জন্মকে অনুভব করতে পারে, সেটার বিষয়ে জানতে পারে। শুধু তাই নয়, একজন যোগী সেই ক্ষমতার বশে নিজের দেহ থেকে আত্মাকে সরিয়ে নিতে পারে, যার ফলে সে অন্য সকলের কাছে অদৃশ্য হয়ে যায়। সে জানতে পারে তার মৃত্যুর সময়, এবং মৃত্যুর সময় জানার ফলে সে তার পরবর্তী জন্মকে আরো জোরালো ভাবে দেখতে সক্ষম হয়। যোগী শক্তি পায় যেটা অসীম, সে পুরো বিশ্বব্রহ্মাণ্ডের জ্ঞান পায়, সে তারা-নক্ষত্রের গতি বিষয়ক জ্ঞান পায়, সে শরীর বিষয়ক জ্ঞান পায়, তার আর ক্ষুধা থাকে না, এবং তার নার্ভগুলো একস্থানে মনোনিবেশ করে।

একজন ব্যাক্তি প্রতিভা দ্বারা এই ক্ষমতার অধিপতি হতে পারেন, কারণ সে তার আগের জন্ম থেকেই এই বিষয়ে জ্ঞানী। সে এই ক্ষমতার অংশীদার হতে পারে যখন কোনো না কোনোভাবে তাকে তার এই পূর্বজ্ঞান মনে করিয়ে দেয়া হয়। সেই যোগীর কাছে আসে অলৌকিক শক্তি যার মাধ্যমে সে তার পাঁচ ইন্দ্রিয়কে অতি অবশ্যক ব্যবহার করতে পারে এবং তার চাহিদা মত দেখতে, শুনতে ও বুঝতে পারে। সে তার চিত্তের মধ্যে বাঁধ খুলে দিয়ে তার দেহ ছেড়ে অন্য দেহের মধ্যে প্রবেশ করতে পারে। সে তার উদানা (আমাদের শরীরের উপরের অংশের নার্ভগুলো)-কে সে চালাতে পারে নিজের ইচ্ছা মত, যাতে সে নিজেকে হালকা করে তুলে। এই হালকা হবার কারণে যোগী জলে ডুবে না, কাঁটাতে হাঁটলেও বা আগুনে দাঁড়ালেও কিছু তার ক্ষতি করতে পারে না। এই থেকে সে আকাশের মত হালকা হয়ে যায়, এবং সে যেখানে ইচ্ছা সেখানেই যেতে পারে।

তার ভেতরকার শক্তির ফলে সে এটা বুঝতে পারে যে সকল কিছুই জ্ঞানে অসীম, সে সকল পদার্থের উপর তার ক্ষমতা প্রয়োগ করার শক্তি আনে, এবং সেই ইথারের ফলে তার শরীর ধ্বংসের বাহিরে চলে যায়, (যদি যোগী নিজে মৃত্যু চায়, তাহলে তার মৃত্যু সম্ভব) তার কোনো অসুখ হয় না, তার মৃত্যু থাকে না এবং কষ্ট থাকে না। যদি যোগী এই সকল ক্ষমতাকে ছেড়ে দেয়, তাহলে তার মধ্যে কোনো ক্ষতির অংশ থাকে না, এবং কৈবল্য লাভ করে। কৈবল্য হচ্ছে যখন যোগী একা ও স্বাধীন। সে সেই শক্তিগুলোকেও ছেড়ে দেয়, এবং সেই যোগী সকল থেকে ছাড় পায়, স্বাধীন হয়ে যায়। সেই সময় সেই যোগীর আত্মাকে পূর্ণ বলা হয়, বা যখন ভগবান আমরা নিজেরাই হয়ে যাই, কারণ মনে রাখতে হবে লিও টলস্টয়ের একটি বইয়ের না, "The Kingdom of God is Within You."

Is the Media Bias or Discriminating?

2010-08-19T10:43:00.002-04:00

The media through the internet has been playing a negative role against the Chinese. The Pakistanis being homeless is coming up to the news much more often than the Chinese mudslide. Google News World Section has posted the mudslide story as their 11th news by rank at the time of writing. I questioned myself the devastation the two natural disasters had produced, one in Pakistan and the other in China.

The Xinhuanet news agency released the information that 1,287 were dead from the mudslide. They also claimed that 457 were still missing. I later checked CNN's world, but before even going to the World section, I found the Pakistan's story on the front page which I had not noticed for the Chinese. The title of the story was Number of Homeless in Pakistan Doubles. I understand the situations, I understand both of the situations but what I do not understand is, why is the international media playing a lot with the Pakistanis when they could also look upon the Chinese.

The Chinese generosity could be also seen from the flood relief sent to Pakistan by the Chinese, reported by Xinhuan. Xinhuan reports that 50 million yuan were donated for the victims of Pakistan, which equals to 7.4 million US dollars. My question to the Pakistanis is, if the Chinese can help when they are also in the need for money and relief, why cannot the Pakistanis? Why cannot Zardari, the president for Pakistan visit the location of the relief camps himself and still want international support at the same time? (This had been reported, one example is here.) ABC News reported that:

Government officials have been accused of not doing enough. Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani was criticized after he visited a medical camp that was later revealed to be a fake. Gilani passed out relief checks to actors who were hired to play victims for the photo-op shown on national television.

My question towards the Pakistanis who are still asking for money and relief is, how they international community help when you, yourself do not have the courage to go on?

[Image courtesy of News.cn]

Swami Vivekananda 1.4.1

2010-08-13T12:17:00.002-04:00

Soul, God, Religion

At the beginning of the 19th century, religion was disappearing. Essentially every religion is one and united.
Most religions declare that the body has something that does not mutate, remaining the same. But they claim that it had a beginning which would be impossible because anything that had a beginning must have an end.
Beginning only means beginning of a cycle.
If there was an absolute beginning, then the whole burden of impurity would go into God.
A child is born with past tendencies, no child is born with tabula rasa or a clean, blank mind. The ancient Greeks and the Egyptians thought that a child is born with hundred tendencies.
Christianity after coming out of its origin had lost the root of it in Europe.
All religion teach us about the eternity of the soul, and its luster has been deemed. No one understood that all the Gods were the same.
The sun god, wind god and the nature's other gods changed into one God, monotheism rising from it. But then we learned that that God is immanent in nature which means we can reach Him.
By knowing that the God is essentially the same as us, we find that the kingdom of heaven is within us. It is the mind that is the kingdom of heaven.
Everything has been created by him, just as there are thousand different radii but they converge through only one point.
Love and charity is the oneness in every human which should be searched. Until religion makes you realize God, it is useless. It is as if a donkey is carrying sugar but does not know its sweetness.
A lion was born among a flock of sheep where it was raised with grass and learned to bleat. A stranger lion came and saw the lion eating grass, and took it to the pond, showed its face to it and after understanding that it was not a sheep but a lion, it learned to roar and not be a sheep any more.

Some questions follow from the book:
- Q. A man in the audience said, "If ministers stop preaching hell-fire, they will have no control over their people."
- Q. What did the Lord mean when he said, "The kingdom of heaven is not of this world?"
- Q. Do you believe we come up from the animals?
- Q. Do you know of anyone who remembers his previous life ?
- Q. Do you believe in Christ's crucifixion?
- Q. If he could have produced such a semblance as that, would not that have been the greatest miracle of all?
- Q. Do you believe Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount?

Swami Vivekananda 1.3.9

2010-08-11T15:29:00.000-04:00

Independence

From previous incarnation, the powers can be transferred to the next. Indian chemistry asks why cannot be have our soul transferred during the course of our knowledge?
Certain words at certain times in certain conditions can give power which is unbelievable. Mortification and asceticisms can lead to practices that cannot be thought of through the body and by practicing, we will never feel pain. Concentration is Samadhi, the ultimate goal from Yoga.
All the knowledge and power are in a human, only blocked, which opened would lead to gaining powers he had.
Evolution, in Patanjali's theory is formed because of our desire to become perfect but ignorance has held us back to becoming perfect.
The Purusha is never hurt by any karma, the good ones only prevail it, and the bad ones hide it. When it is prevailed, the mind that was always yours comes into view, the same material that was used for your mind is the same material for macrocosm.
The person who has attained Samadhi has no desire. He does not work of three kinds: black (evil actions), white (good actions) and mixed.
Desires change according to body, and is separated by species, space and time. Each body acts as if it were a descendant of a series of bodies of that species only; thus, consecutiveness of desires is not to be broken. Desire is without beginning.
Cause is the rise of desire and until an effect comes, the desire will live upon you.
The universe rose from the three gunas and their modes of manifestation. Their changes are co-ordinated, having their unity.
The universe is both mental and material and in flux at all times. What makes it to look at no change is the fact that the change is rhythmic. The mind changes to it, to understand the change. If a cart and a train moves at the same speed, another outside stationary material is needed to picture which is faster and we first perceive the faster motion. But that stationary is also moving, changing, and it continues to find the non-changing until you find Purusha.
Each body acts as if it were a descendant of a series of bodies of that species only; thus, consecutiveness of desires is not to be broken. The cognition will continue until it is understood that their is no storehouse for memory. Because of the mind takes the form of Purusha, it comes conscious.
We see the true sense of nature, we lose fear and the mind attains isolation. The Purusha is happiness and blessed by its own nature but covered by past impressions.
All the powers that a Yogi receives age given back, called Dharma-megha, the cloud of virtue, and the power is given back. All the knowledge comes to him and understand the same as Buddha or Christ.
While I think, many moments pass, and with each moment there is a change of idea, but I only
perceive these changes at the end of a series. This is called succession.

Swami Vivekananda 1.3.8

2010-08-08T09:52:00.002-04:00

Patanjali's Yoga Aphorisms: Powers

Dharana is concentration on an object, either body or outside the body, keeping it in that state. When it is held in that state for some time, it is Dhyana (meditation). When all the giving up forms, Samadhi comes to that person.
Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi when practiced on one object is Samyama. The Samyama should first be done on gross objects and then be done on finer objects. Do not be fast.
Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi are internal, they would not make the mind Nirvikalpa, changeless. Through the supression of the disturbed mind, the rise of impressions of control, the mind, persisting in the moment of control attains the control modifications. The mind then can become constant with it's concentration. The Chitta can then get the modification called Samadhi.
When the mind has been concentrated, the idea of time will vanish. The state changes through the changes in Vritti, changes in form. This changes brings the manifold evolution. A man in that stage can view the past and the future and through making the Samyama on these work, they are able to view past and the future.
The word represents the external cause, the meaning represents the internal vibration that
travels to the brain through the channels of the Indriyas, conveying the external impression to
the mind, and knowledge represents the reaction of the mind, with which comes perception.
These three, confused, make our sense-objects. The word that is heard is a combination of three- vibration, sensation and reaction. If a Yogi can make a Samyama on the past impressions in the mind, their past lives will be remembered.
Through the two-fold Samyama, knowing only the signs of the body and the mind, the Yogi is able to know the contents of the mind. Thus the Yogi can separate the body and the mind, and become invisible to others when he is actually present there in the location.
The Yogi can learn about the time of his death, and the Gita has taught us that thinking about the moment of departure can lead us to know our next life.
The Yogi then gets infinite energy. By making Samyama on the sun comes knowledge of the world, on the moon comes the knowledge of the stars, on the the pole-stars comes the knowledge of the motions of the stars, on the navel circle comes the constitution of the body, on the hollow throat comes cessation (stop) of hunger, on the nerves comes Kurma, fixity of the body,
The Siddhas are little above ghosts, and the Yogi concentration his mind on the head gives his the sense of the Siddhas.
All these can come to one who has the power of Pratibha and everything comes to him without Samyama. When the action of Sattva is a modification of Prakriti by light and happiness. When it is free from egoism and full of pure intelligence, is is called the self-centered one, independent in everything.
Then the rise of Prathibha, and supernatural hearing, touching, seeing, tasting and smelling comes to oneself. When the bondage from Chitta is loosened, the Yogi enters another's body or can enter a liting body and hold that man's mind and organs in check. He only makes the Samyama enter it.
Udana controls the nerve currents of the lungs and upper part of the body. Him, controlling it make it light in weight, does not sink in water, can walk in thorns and sword blades, and stand in fire, as well as depart whenever he likes. He can light from his body. Through Akasha, ether, and the ear, the Yogi can have supernormal hearing, hearing anything from anywhere. He becomes light as the Akasha and go anywhere in the air.
The mental waves that rise in the waves of the absence of egoism is called real modification and then the Yogi finds everything full of knowledge.
By making Samyama on the gross and fine forms of the elements, their essential traits, the inherence of the Gunas in them and on their contributing to the experience of the soul, comes mastery of the elements.
When these either powers come to the Yogi, he can make himself as he wants. The body becomes indestructible, unless he wishes, and he has no disease, death or pain. He concentrates on his organs, through knowledge. Egoism is present here, and the Yogi make Samyama on these and the other two by gradation and empowers over the organs. By making Samyama on the discrimination between the Sattva and the Purusha come omnipotence and omniscience. From that comes to the body the power of rapid movement like the mind, power of the organs independently of the body, and conquest of nature.
From giving up powers comes the death of seed of evil, which leads to Kaivalya. He becomes alone, independent, and free. He rejects these powers also. The gods are jealous and try to interfere, and those that cannot back against the gods die and those that can fight their temptations go straight to the goal and become free.
Misery is from ignorance, non-discrimination between the real and the unreal. Two same cows of the same species can be distinguished by discrimination.
When the soul realizes that it has no necessity, it becomes Kaivalya (isolated) and perfect.

Swami Vivekananda 1.3.7

2010-08-07T13:45:00.001-04:00

Panchajali's Yoga Aphorisms: Ch 2: Concentration: It's Practice

Mortification, study and surrendering fruits to the God is called Kriya Yoga. To mortify is to hold firmly to one's organs.
Vada is argumentative and Siddhanta is decisive. First by reasoning, the conclusion can be reached (Siddhanta). Give up both fruits of joy and sorrow to the God, that is the way to peace.
The necessary for Kriya Yoga starts from practicing it, from which pain leaves us, and we gain control of ourselves. Ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion and clinging to life are the pain bearing obstructions. These forces hold out Self down so that from dormant, attenuated, overpowered and then that force is expanded.
Ignorance is to take the non-eternal, impure, the painful and the non-Self for eternal, the pure, the happy and the Atman or Self. The seer is the Self, the immortal. The Self cannot be changed, thus it cannot feel any emotion. We develop attachment towards anything that attracts and aversion takes us away from pain.
We learn to do whatever from our instincts, for example cry when we are hungry. It is, to the Yogis the experience of the mind that is manifested in the body that cries, through the theory of reincarnation.
The mind experiences anger, and it is first the anger and the own self, two distinguish separate things which then cling to become one, overpowering over the own self and becoming anger.
The Chitta is the effect, and the causes is to be resolved, the Asmita or Egoism. Meditation does not take away egoism, but these thoughts are rejected.
Yogis say that one is able to accumulate energy from the mind. We can send electrical waves throughout our body, through our nerve fluid because they are polarized. One then does not need to live or die, so then he can use different arrangements to make up the body and then neither birth or death exist.
To the discriminating, all is, as it were, painful on account of everything bringing pain either as consequence, or as anticipation of loss of happiness, or as fresh craving arising from impressions of happiness, and also as counteraction of qualities. Death gives us glimpse of renunciation (Vairagya).
The experienced is full of elements and organs, in the nature of illumination, action and inertia. It must be reminded, for example in the story: King of the Heaven, Indra had once become a pig, when he had a complete family. He was still the commander of the heaven and all the other gods came to him. He rejected their idea to come back to the heaven, so the gods started to kill Indra's family, the other pigs. Then all the gods started to come out of him, laughing at him. He realized that he was forgetting his Purusha which does not have any emotions, no qualities but only it's essence.
In the nature, there are three types of materials: Sattva, the Rajas, and the Tamas. Nature before creation is called Avyakta, undefined or indiscrete, when the three materials were in perfect balance. The disturbance later created the universe.
The Purusha is not similar to anything, neither Bhuddhi, Tanmantras or the gross materials. Because of their form not being combination, they cannot die and they are infinite in number.
The conditions the surround us influences us to become pure in our matters as we develop characteristics to become pure.
Modern science says intelligence is the last to come as we have developed into more intelligent beings but philosophers claimed that intelligence was the first come, from which all gross matter came. Which comes first is what you think comes first in A-B-A-B infinitive series. Intelligence is like fingernail which can be thrown off but it grows in any case.
The appearance of the soul, showing it's emotions are all reflections.
If one idea is a delusion, the other is also a delusion, and if one is true, the other also is true, because both stand upon the same basis — consciousness. The Yogi says, both are true; that we are bound so far as intelligence goes, that we are free so far as the soul is concerned. It is the real
nature of man, the soul, the Purusha, which is beyond all law of causation. Its freedom is
percolating through layers of matter in various forms, intelligence, mind, etc. It is its light
which is shining through all. Intelligence has no light of its own. Each organ has a particular
center in the brain; it is not that all the organs have one center; each organ is separate. The Yogi finds that the Purusha is free, knowledge from the Buddhi or intelligence is bound and his ignorance vanishes.
Through ignorance we take the nature to our souls and though the nature wants to free us, the combinations keeps the nature running. Each soul is divine by itself, and our job is to release ourselves from the nature. Our job is to release ourselves, just as a oyster has pearls in itself, we are embedded in the nature.
When these knowledge comes to us, they come in sevenfold: first we have known what is to be known, when we are not dissatisfied by anything. Then the second is absence of all pains when nothing can give us pain. The thirds is attaining full knowledge, omniscience. The fourth is attainment of the end of all duty through discrimination. The fifth is the freedom of the Chitta. The sixth is the Chitta realizing that it melts away into its causes whenever we desire. Lastly we realize that our mind and body are not related, and they had been working their own way. We realize that we are alone in the universe, omnipotent, omnipresent, ever blessed. The Yogi then knows that he is almighty, ever perfect, ever blessed.
Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayaama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi are eight parts of Yoga.
Receive no gifts such as sex. These make up the practices: non killing, truthfulness, non-stealing, chastity, and non-receiving.
Both internal and external purification are required for a Yogi. Also try to bring the opposite when one rises, such as love lowering anger.
If a man gets the ideal non-injuring others, then the tiger and the lamb would be playing right in front of him. Thus you will never to conquered by evil in thoughts or dream. You gain the whole universe for yourself.
When one receives gifts from others, one does not remember their past life. By remembering their past life, one is able to convince that he had been going and coming.
When all these comes to one, it will lose it's beauty. Losing the idea of the body as the Self does not come to them at all. There comes purification of Sattva, cheerfulness of the mind, concentration, conquest of the organs and fitness of the realization of the Self.
Let go of all the moroseness, the Tamas. From contentment comes superlative happiness. Mortification brings power to the organs and the body, destroying the impurity. By sacrificing all to Ishwara comes Samadhi.
Asana is important because it has to be firm so taht you do not feel your body at all. By thinking of the infinite, infinite sky, we can make the seat firm. The extremes, good and bad and others do not interfere.
Thus we can control Prana, Prana not breathing, but all the cosmic energy through the motion of the lungs. We start by controlling the lungs. The three motions: taking the air, stopping the air from entering the lungs and releasing the air to the environment varies from place and time. From Pranayam comes Udghata or the awakening of the Kundalini.
The other Pranayam is to restrain the Prana by reflecting on external or internal object. All the Rajas and Tamas are removed, and it becomes fit for Dharana. Then we can change the mind to whatever form we want and restrain it to take other forms, which is called Pratyahara. Then rises the supreme control of the organs.

Ethics and Egoism

2010-08-03T11:28:00.001-04:00

Why should I be moral?

What is egoism? Egoism can be divided into two forms: egoism proper (morality consists of a set of objective, altruistic, and simply forbids us to be moral in every cause) and ethical egoism (consisting of ideas to be egoist every time). To understand what egoism is, there was a story:

The story is that he was a shepherd in the service of the ruler of Lydia. There was a violent rainstorm and an earthquake which broke open the ground and created a chasm at the place where he was tending sheep. Seeing this and marveling, he went down into it. He saw, besides many other wonders of which we are told, a hollow bronze horse. There were window-like openings in it; he climbed through them and caught sight of a corpse which seemed of more than human statue, wearing nothing but a ring of gold on its finger. This ring the shepherd put on and came out. He arrived at the usual monthly meeting which reported to the king of the state of flocks, wearing the ring. As he was sitting among the others he happened to twist the hoop of the ring towards himself, to the inside of his hand, and as he did this he became invisible to those sitting near and they went on talking as if he was gone. He marveled at this and, fingering the ring, he turned the hoop outward again and became visible. Perceiving this, he tested whether the ring had this power and so it happened; if he turned the hoop inward he became invisible, but was visible when he turned it outwards. When he realized this, he at once arranged to become one of the messengers of the king. He went, committed adultery with the king's wife, attacked the king with her help, killed him, and took over the kingdom.

This story is a quote from Why Should I be Moral? by Plato, consisted on page 55 of the book Moral Philosophy: A Reader.

From this story, it could be understood morality and what is not. This is mostly because one who was moral and had the same ring would have done things differently, helped others in their needs than meeting his own needs. The soul that is made up of three parts: a rational part, spirited part and appetitive or passionate part. One should be divine to themselves, so that the best man can rule themselves, because it is always better to be ruled by divine intelligence. He urges that justice of a human being is what he does towards himself, what he does to himself is just and fair. Thus only the best part of the Self can actually get you to be ruled by it's methods, and not contain any of the traumas from it.

Egoism and the Beginning of Morality
Thomas Hobbes puts on definitions underlaid by Socrates, recorded by Plato. Hobbes main beliefs includes "psychological egoism", "state of nature", which leads us to war in ourselves. The "Laws of Nature" as Hobbes refers to them, are nothing more than the maxims of wisdom in which you become cautious, similar to prudence. He then introduces penalties, stating "covenants without the sword are but words".

He reasons that because of equality, our selves are possessed with fear, because two men desiring the same object consider that they both can achieve that as their possession, but only one can achieve it. Thus, one will fight with power as the other will only fear that power, bringing out fear. There are three principal causes for quarrel: competition, fear and glory. At the first, competition, we invade for gain, then for the second, we invade for safety, and then we invade for reputation.

The natural laws are explained by Hobbes as followed on page 65 of Moral Philosophy: A Reader.

The Right of Nature
The Right of Nature, which writers commonly call jus naturale, is the liberty each man hath, to use for own power, as he will himself, for the preservation of his own nature; that is to say, of his own life; and consequently, of doing anything, which is his own judgment, and reason, he shall conceive to be the best means thereunto.

Liberty
By Liberty, is understood, according to the proper signification of the word, the absence of external impediments: which impediments, many oft take away part of a man's power left him, according as his judgment, and reason shall dictate to him.

A Law of Nature
A Law of Nature, lex naturalis, is a percept or general rule, found out by reason, by which a man is forbidden to do that, which is destructive to his life, or taketh away the means of preserving the same; and to omit that, by which he thinketh it may be best preserved. For though they that speak to this subject, use to confound jus, and lex, right and law: yet they ought to be distinguished; because right, consisteth in liberty to do, or to forbear, whereas law, determines and binds to one of them: so that law, and right, differ as much as obligation and liberty, which is one and the same matter as inconsistent.

He then gives us some definitions:

Renouncing: when he cares not to whom benefit thereof redounds.
Transferring: when he intends the benefit thereof to some certain person/persons.
Obliged/Bound: A man has in either matter abandoned or granted away his right.

The mutual transferring of right is called contact, changing possession. Covenant is "delivering the thing contracted for on his part and leave the other to perform his part as some determinate time after" and be trusted in the meantime.

What is justice? Justice, the third law of nature, because when there are no covenant to be preceded, there has no right to be transferred and every man has the right to everything and then no action can be unjust. The injustice is not performance of covenant. Thus, the golden rule of ethics come up: "Do not that to another, which thou wouldest not have done to thyself" which may seem common to the Confucius rule but phrased differently.

Similar to the sayings of Sreemadbhagabad Geeta, you are required to authorize and give up the rights of governing myself, to this man with another, have made themselves every one the author, to the end he may use the strength and mean of them all, as he shall think expedient, for their peace and common defense.

Afterlife of a Beggar

2010-07-27T11:38:00.000-04:00

It was the funeral ceremony of a grandmother who had died fifteen days ago. Though the body had been cremated the same night she had died, according to the scriptures of Hinduism, it was required that the person who died should be remembered fifteen days after her death through a gathering where everyone would pray for her. She was part of a rich family in Bangladesh, and her children were also rich, inviting almost the whole village in their house for the lunch. Everyone gathered together with the beggars that were found in the village, to eat and share their pray so that her afterlife would be as great as her life.

Among the regular visitors walked in a woman who wore a white-colored saree that covered her face, displaying only her wrinkled skin. It was still morning time, 10 o'clock in the bright sunny morning day as the house was getting prepared for the afternoon. She walked into the house and asked for food.
"Sit in the side," said a maid. "I will call the owner."
She walked into the house and called out the owner's wife, who's mother-in-law had died. She came out, peeked into the beggar and having seen her sit on a side, he asked a maid to get food for her. She examined the beggar's movements, knowing that she was not the common beggar from the village and no one had seen her here before. She received the plate with food in it, and walked up to her and handed her the food.
"Eat," she told the beggar. "If you need anything else, just let me know."
"No," said the beggar. "This is a lot to eat."

The owner's wife left and her children came up, with the neighbors around them. One of them, a boy saw that her cloths were worn out and needed repair or replacement and thus asked her if she needed any old clothing from the house. She looked up from the plate of food and still not showing her eyes, she told them that they had brand new cloths in a chest.
"I liked those," said the beggar. "Why should I wear old clothing at all when I have new cloths?"
A little surprised, another boy told her that those were not her.
"Those are mine," she answered to the boy who often did not intercept what was going on around him. "I used to wear them all my life. The red saree, the jewelry in the chest, those are what I should wear, and not those old cloths."

The boys did not understand her much, thinking that her mental state was not much of a great one. She stood up and walked out the doors of the house, not letting anyone know except for the neighborhood boys, some of whom followed her out the door. It took her considerable amount of time to walk to the doors and the boys followed her to the opposite door. The owner's wife came out with old clothing and handed it to her son so that he could take it to the beggar. He ran as his friends were already there in the road but upon going onto the road, they lost her, One of them said he saw her walking this path and his friend next to him looked into his shirt to remove a leaf that had fallen into his shirt. Then the other boy who had been watching her go had taken a blink which took her out of his picture as he figured out that right after she had come out of the house, her speed in walking was tremendous. It was thus concluded that she was the actual person who had died, she was the grandmother herself.

Previously posted in Teenlink

Laws To Curb Pollution in Bangladesh

2010-07-23T11:47:00.005-04:00

Bangladesh, the nation that is in the danger of extinction from global warming and sea-level rising, has put up a new initiative to curb its pollution.

Reuters reports that with this initiative, any citizen will be allowed to file a case against polluters, and the Prime Minister's press secretary said that offenders can be punished with jail time of up to five years and fine of half million taka (equivalent to $7,000). But because this is mostly directed towards the owners of major industries and businesses, the price that they have to pay may not affect them much.

Called the Environment Court Act 2010, if effective it could not only change practices that lead to climate change in Bangladesh, but may help save the Buriganga river found in the heartland of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. This river has been endangered through pollution as it's effectively been used as Dhaka's sewer dump and 80% of the toxic waste poured into it is untreated.

A World Bank report claimed that Bangladesh receives 1.5 million cubic meters of waste water every day from 7,000 industrial units, and 0.5 million cubic meters a day from other sources. Putting controls on this waste may help combat the premature deaths that occur among Bangladeshi children because of pollution.

"The Cabinet gave the final approval to the draft law to help take stringent measures against the polluters of environment. Many persons took lease of vast lands in the name of rubber cultivation, but made cottage for their luxuries. Prime Minister directed concerned authorities to stop such practices," Abul Kalam Azad, Press Secretary to the Prime Minister told journalists at a press briefing.

The mobile courts throughout the country would be in charge by the hierarchy held in Dhaka, so that anyone who has seen any misuse of land through pollution can report to the government at any time.

Moral Relativism Vs. Moral Objectivism

2010-07-20T18:59:00.001-04:00

These are quotes/summary from the book Moral Philosophy: A Reader which was edited by Louis P. Pojman. All words the quoted towards the copyright owner of these articles, and none belongs as a property of me.

Custom is King- Herodotus
Herodotus, The Histories of Herodotus, trans. Georgy Rawlinson (New York: Appleton, 1859)

For if one were to offer men to choose out of all the customs in the world such as seemed to them the best, they would examine the whole number, and end by preferring their own; so convinced are they that their own usage far surpass those of all others.

A Defense of Ethical Objectivism
Copyright Louis P. Pojman, 1996
John Ladd's quote is quoted here also:

Ethical relativism is the doctrine that the moral rightness and wrongness of actions vary from society to society and that there are not absolute universal moral standards on all men at all times. Accordingly, it holds that whether or not it is right for an individual to act in a certain way depends on or is relative to the society to which he belongs.

Let us examine what is diversity thesis: "simply a description that acknowledges the fact that moral rules differ from society to society". The dependency thesis claims "that individual acts are right or wrong depending on the nature of the society from which they emanate." Moral change also has occurred in history such that from the time the society had started until now.

In a sense we all live in radically different worlds. But the relativist wants to go further and maintain that there is something conventional about any morality, so that every morality really depends on a level of social acceptance. Not only do various adhere to different moral systems, but the very same society could (and often does) change its moral views over place and time.

Here is one example of subjectivism:

Subjectivism treats individuals like billiard balls on a societal pool table where they meet only in radical collisions, each aimed to his or her own goal and striving to do in the others before they themselves are done in. This atomistic view of personality is belied by the facts that we develop in families and mutual dependent communities in which we share a common language, common institutions, and similar rituals and habits, and that we often feel one another's joys and sorrows. As John Donne wrote, "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent."

There is one list to prove the fact about cultural relativism written by Melville Herskovits:

(1) If morality is relative to its culture, then there is no independent basis for criticizing the morality of any other culture but one's own.
(2) If there is no independent way of criticizing any other culture, we ought to be tolerant of of the moralities of other cultures.
(3) Morality is relative to its culture.
(4) Therefore, we ought to be tolerant of the moralities of other cultures.

So here is is confirmed that if we do not have independent moral basis in law, then we do not know why we obey. Then if we do not confirm the priority of the law through moral law, then our acts of civil disobedience against "unjust laws" does not occupy. "Both the validity of law and morally motivated disobedience of unjust laws are annulled in the favor of power struggle", confirms Louis P. Pojman.

Here is the summary of the three ethical relativism theses:

1. The Divinity Thesis: What is considered morally right and wrong varies from society to society, so that there is no moral principles accepted by all societies.
2. The Dependency Thesis: All the moral principles derive their validity from cultural acceptance.
3. Ethical Relativism: therefore, there are no universally valid moral principles, objective standards which apply to all people everywhere and at all times.

Absolutism

The absolutist believes that there are nonoverrideable moral principles which ought never to be violated. [...] One ought never to break a promise, for the principle, Do that act that has the most promise of yielding the most utility, is nonoverrideable principles, at least not in unqualified general form, and so need not be an absolutist.

Here is the revised argument from the moral principles:

1. Objectively valid moral principles are those adherence to which meet the needs and promote the most significant interests of persons.
2. Some principles are such that adherence to them meets the needs and promotes the most significant interests of persons.
3. Therefore, there are some objectively valid moral principles.

The points are afterward explained through a story which is paraphrased here: You are in the kingdom of hell, watching all the suffering. They are all with eternal back itches that they cannot scratch their back because they are paralyzed in frontal position. Then you are transported to the heaven where they also have the itch with their hands the same way. But they can actually scratch their backs because every single of them there scratches each other's back in a circle.

Also, though it can be thought that absolutism and relativism are the only alternatives, conventionalism wins against everything else. A realist holds moral values that have independent existence. An anti-realist says that they do not have independent existence. But objectivism claims that both exist because common nature, needs and goals are called by it.

The claim that cultural values have caused our change in mind and sensitivity towards what is right and wrong has galloped all over us. Cultural relativism does not link to cultural relativism and for that same reason, we are against ethnocentrism. Decline of religion in Western society led to nihilism and other relativism. Reasoning in God leads to decline in the culture.

The above statements were mostly written from Louis P. Pojman's "A Defense of Ethical Objectivism" and "Custom is King" by Herodotus which was published in the book Moral Philosophy: A Reader. "Custom is King" is contained in page 20, and "A Defense of Ethical Objectivism" is written in pages 38-52. No property of the work is copied but quoted in the names of the authors who hold their copyrights.

Twitter Changed for Sure Cause of WC

2010-07-16T13:47:00.001-04:00

Well, maybe you might have not changed or your idea about your favorite sport. But Twitter sure did change after the world cup, as this news came out of their blog. The final of the world cup was the most sustained activity for Twitter in it's history. Tweet per second (TPS) was higher than usual during the game and during the last 15 minutes of the game, it jumped to 2000 TPS and after Spain's goal, it was 3051 TPS. People from 172 countries tweeted during the final of the world cup in 27 different languages! At the winning goal, more than 81 countries tweeted in 23 different languages!

@miguelrios from twitter created this image to represent all of the talking phrases during the game hours:

Image by @miguelrios

This image shows the summary of twitter usage during the world cup:

Image by @miguelrios

What do you see when you see this image? Let's not just say those are sound waves, because then they would be really loud!