Thinking

Mahashivratri 2019 - A fantastic celebration

2019-03-06T13:25:00.004+05:30

Blogging after a long time... but could not resist how infectious the Mahashivratri event this time (March 2019) was.

The local people thoroughly enjoyed the Mahashivaratri this time. It was very well organized and was witnessed by literally lakhs of people.

If you were not live on the ground or at least online, you have definitely missed something mind-blowing this time. Here is the AdiYogi's Divya Darshan for such people.

The Annadanam food was fantastic and so was the entire event organization. How smoothly it was all done is simply astonishing! Suffice to say, it was just a blissful experience for me and my family :)

Those who have missed it this time, you just need to wait for the next Mahashivratri at Isha!

Shocking Truth behind Isha's Deforestation allegations?

2018-07-26T19:36:00.000+05:30

I have been wondering about the allegations that Isha encroached the forest lands. Many a person has told me that this is a lie being repeated by vested interests in the hope of making it sound like a truth. The unfortunate reality is that many common people also think this is the case because of the number of the times it has been said in media, though not a single person or group has been able to prove this over last 20 years!

What is Isha Foundation's Stand?

I checked the Isha Foundation website and they have given a clear notice that this is a lie being perpetrated against them.

https://isha.sadhguru.org/in/en/blog/article/is-isha-encroaching-elephant-corridor

"Isha Yoga Center is not constructed on forest land or elephant corridor. It is constructed on 100% Patta land. In 2013, Tamil Nadu Forest Department officials verified this, and clearly documented that the center is only on Patta land and has not infringed onto forest land. The document reference number is CFCIT/07/2013."

My Findings from TN Forest Department website

I went to the Tamilnadu Forest Department website and found something very interesting. These definitions are quite important for us to note as it is from the Tamilnadu Forest Department itself. The relevant page link is: https://www.forests.tn.gov.in/pages/view/tn-state-profile

Forest Cover: All lands, more than one hectare in area, with a tree canopy density of more than 10 percent irrespective of ownership and legal status. Such lands may not necessarily be a recorded forest area. It also includes orchards, bamboo and palm.

Forest Area: The area recorded as a forest in the Government records. It is also referred to as “recorded forest area”.

Moderately Dense Forest: All lands with forest cover having a canopy density between 40 to 70 percent.

Open Forest: Lands with forest cover having a canopy density between 10 to 40 percent.

Protected Forest(PF): An area notified under the provisions of the Indian Forest Act or other State Forest Acts, having limited degree of protection. In protected forest all activities are permitted unless prohibited.

Reserved Forest (RF): An area so constituted under the provisions of the Indian Forest Act or other State Forest Acts, having full degree of protection. In Reserved forests all activities are prohibited unless permitted.

Scrub: Degraded forest lands having canopy density less than 10 percent.

Tree Cover: It comprises of tree patches outside the recorded forest area exclusive of forest cover and less than the minimum mappable area (1 ha) and up to 0.1 ha. Such small patches comprising of block, linear and scattered trees are not delineated as forest cover during interpretation of satellite data. The areas of scattered trees are computed by notional numbers.

Very Dense Forests: Lands with forest cover having a canopy density of 70 percent and above.

Unclassed Forest: An area recorded as forest but not included in reserved or protected forest category. Ownership status of such forests varies from State to State.

Why are these definitions important for us to understand the context?

These definitions are important because we have three facts on hand:

(1) Isha Foundation lands are near the Booluvampatti Reserved Forest

(2) The definition of Forest cover is all encompassing irrespective of the ownership of the land

(3) The Tamilnadu Forest cover has actually increased from 2011 to 2017!

I will elaborate on each of these points below. But, I am going to first put you through a psychology experiment.

If I tell you that someone, say X, has cut down a 100 year old huge tree with an electric saw, you would immediately feel anger within you. Wouldn't you? And that is a genuine emotion!

But you only heard me saying that! Did you actually see for yourself if X has indeed cut a tree down? Even if X had cut a tree, what was the context in which he / she did that?

What would be your reaction if I told you X is a rich person? Is your anger still there or is it increasing?

Would you still be angry if I told you that the tree had fallen down on X's child and if X had not cut the tree and removed it, her child would have been crushed to death under that tree? After all, you did not even know whether the cut tree was standing earlier or was on the ground already!!

Do you see how easy it is to get our emotions manipulated?

So, the next time you hear something about someone, ascertain if such an incident actually happened and if it did, what was the context. If you do not get convincing answers for either question, you can best ignore such information.

(1) Isha Foundation lands are near the Booluvambatti Reserved Forest

The concerns raised against Isha Foundation initially could well have been legitimate but where it all became a slandering campaign was when the team used a map that was produced by Mr Saravanan Chandrasekeran on Facebook once. Saravanan had actually posted a Google Earth image of the Isha Foundation and incorrectly questioned if Isha was occupying the forest land.

This is the image that is spread in various memes ... obviously a work of Photoshop because you cannot find such images on Google map's timelines!

The first thing about this image is that it is at such a high level claiming to show the Isha Yoga Campus. Is the Isha Yoga Campus all over the map or is it a small place in the map? From 2006 to 2016, the campus might have grown. What is the exact size of the Isha Yoga premises in both years? People who only see and react to such meme photos emotionally don't ask this basic and logical question.

Secondly, as per the definition of Reserved Forest, nothing can be done in the forest without permission of Forest officials. So, it sounds incredulous that such a big organization shaping up within Forest lands, especially a Reserved Forest, would go unnoticed for so many years. If there is anybody who has access to the forest lands, it is the tribals living there and the Forest Officials. If somebody claims the tribals have cut the trees in the forest, it is even understandable. But how would Isha Foundation be held responsible for that?

If one is using Google Earth Images, did you ever wonder why they compare 2006 vs 2016? That is because it is easy to project the wrong figure that way. Why 2006 and 2016? Pick 1993 and 1995 instead!

I can argue that Isha Foundation has caused lot of afforestation in the Velliangiri Hills since they came to be in 1994!!

Check out: https://earthengine.google.com/timelapse/#v=10.98082,76.7275,11.973,latLng&t=1.95

Generally, clarity of Satellite images are subject to so many factors including:

- Season in which the photo is taken
- Time of the day
- Even the Algorithms that process the raw image taken

Why do you think pictures taken in recent years are sharper? Did someone go up and change the cameras in those satellites?

This is the Google maps image I picked up today (July 2018). See how different it looks from the alleged map of 2016 to now or even compared to the Google Earth images from 1993!

You can check it for yourself by visiting this link: https://www.google.co.in/maps/place/Isha+Foundation/@10.9785793,76.7325588,3015m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x3ba8576b1434d763:0x2327c3abe1d98040!8m2!3d10.9772294!4d76.7373321

Of course, Isha Foundation might have expanded their campus by buying the nearby lands to accommodate more people within their premises. That does not mean, they destroyed a whole forest as is being claimed!!

Saravanan himself had later published an apology that his initial analysis was incorrect!

No land of Isha Foundation is on forest area but the allegation had by then caught the attention of vested interests who spread it like wild-fire for gullible public to consume.

Here are some excellent posts by someone who had made extensive study about this topic:

http://qr.ae/TUIkjY

http://qr.ae/TUIkjP

To quote from these posts:

"There is one route going towards left and that is path to forest and in the junction, there is forest department check post. in the middle of the picture you can notice there is one path going left and that path is way to vellingiri temple and each year many people visit this place and climb vellingiri mountain and above that path is the start of velligiri mountain. Vertical road from bottom to top which connects these 2 path is boundary between forest and agriculture land.

Between path to vellingiri temple and path towards forest is plains and it is covered by forest and there is a possibility of elephant in this area when weather is very dry. To reach isha we have to go 1 km from there.

West side of isha is covered by mountains and east side is covered by agriculture lands. Mostly elephant will not walk in slopes and that restrict elephant movement after the path to vellingiri nathar temple.

Only the path which goes to isha crossing vellingiri temple will be blocked after night 8 or 9 by forest department to ensure safety. Inside isha there is no warning or fear of elephants even in dark. No one reported elephant movement. Mountain slope should have restricted elephant movement.

Towards east of isha yoga center you can see lot of agriculture lands if there are any elephant movement in those place people would not prefer it for agriculture.

Now as visitors has increased isha has shifted the entrance to malai vasal which is away from this road."

"The whole area that extends to the left side of this road marked spottily by green and brown spots is the actual forest / hilly area. On this side of the picture, the brown spots indicate the rocky surface whereas the greenery indicates trees in the hilly area.

It can be seen in the bottom right corner of where the AdiYogi statue is, well into the area where Agri lands are. In fact, right behind the AdiYogi statue is a place called ‘Karthik Farms’ which is someone’s private agricultural property. It is quite obvious from the map that the AdiYogi statue is not in forest area."

It is a shame that some of these people spreading such false information about the Isha Foundation claim to be environmentalists but are actually paid activists. People fall victim to such false allegations because of their own genuine concern towards the environment. But they do not know to ascertain the facts properly.

These lies about Isha cutting down trees or building statues in a forest land are easy to spread mainly because Isha Foundation’s lands are "near the forest" though it is not actually in the forest land itself.

(2) The definition of Forest cover is all encompassing irrespective of the ownership of the land

Since the Forest Department's definition of Forest Cover includes even private lands (> 1 hectare area with > 10% tree cover), easily Isha Foundation's lands fall into that category. But the Forest Department also says that legality & ownership of such lands can be private! It's clear in its definition that such places do not fall into the 'FOREST AREA' category. But general public might not be aware of such nuances.

We have a fairly common vision in our minds on how a forest would appear, something like this ...

But each type of forest is different. A Dense Forest looks different from a Moderately Dense Forest which is again appearing different from an Open Forest area!

Now, the lands near (and outside) the Isha Foundation look like this:

This does not even seem close to what an Open Forest would be. But for people who do not know about all these types of forests, etc. it is easy to misunderstand and for vested interests quite easy to misrepresent that Isha Foundation's lands are indeed Forest lands whereas they seem to be clearly not!

(3) The Tamilnadu Forest cover has actually increased if you compare reports from 2011 to 2017!

Here are the links to the official Forest Department reports:

https://www.forests.tn.gov.in/tnforest/app/webroot/img/document/fsi-reports/2013/FOREST-COVER-2013.pdf

https://www.forests.tn.gov.in/app/webroot/img/document/fsi-reports/2017/FOREST-COVER.pdf

Let's look at the Forest cover areas of different types of forests in Tamilnadu:

VDF area in Sq Km - 2011: 2948 2013: 2948 2017: 3672
MDF area in Sq Km - 2011: 10321 2013: 10199 2017: 10979
OF area in Sq Km - 2011: 10356 2013: 10697 2017: 11630

How can that be!? How has there been an increase in the actual forest area between 2011 and 2017 if we keep hearing that trees are being cut down and the dooms day is nearby?

Simple - because our minds like exaggeration, media feeds only such information to us.

This rise in forest cover is due to active reforestation work done by several organizations across the state of Tamilnadu!

The positive information like Isha Foundation's Project Green Hands team distributing and taking care of over 3 crore tree saplings + efforts by individuals like Tamil Actor Vivek, Parthiban, etc. rarely makes it through media. And we are partly to blame for that. We ask for sensation only and media feeds it to us constantly!

Finally,

It is up to us to find the truth for ourselves. I have given all publicly available links here. This can all be easily verifiable. The next time someone tells you that Isha Foundation has caused environmental damage, please show them this detailed article.

Let's spread around only Love!

Ramayana - Our Hidden History - Part 1

2018-07-03T17:18:00.000+05:30

Why this series?

It has been a deep desire for long to bring out multiple aspects of the Indian culture in the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Many of us might have just read the abridged versions by authors like Rajaji, etc. and may not know the depth of science, social dynamics, historical aspects, geography, etc. depicted in these epics. This is a humble attempt at bringing such hidden aspects to the front..

Why Ramayana?

Ramayana is referred to as the 'Adi Kavya', the very first poem. The fascination to this epic has been there both in the Southern and Northern parts of the Indian subcontinent. Famous Sangam age poets like Kamban had translated the Ramayana from Sanskrit to Tamil to help reach more people. And no, there did not seem to be a conflict between Sanskrit and Tamil. The poets seem most of the time equally well-versed in both the languages.

So, my attempt starts here, but I may also refer to the other historical references while deciphering the Ramayana. Of course, I will provide the source in each case for the view am presenting here.

Reference to Varna system

राजवंशान्शतगुणान्स्थापयिष्यति राघव: ।
चातुर्वर्ण्यं च लोकेऽस्मिन् स्वे स्वे धर्मे नियोक्ष्यति ।।1.1.96।।

Meaning: Rama will establish hundredfold royal dynasties and employ the four varnas to do their respective duties, in this world.

Corollary: This is the very first Sarga where briefly Sage Narada tells Sage Valmiki the essence of Rama's life history. Looking at this shloka, it is clear that the Varna system pre-dates Rama and that it was in some state of decay already. Hence he is called upon to employ people of the four Varnas to their respective duties - not by birth rights but by duties - in this world.

Source: https://www.valmiki.iitk.ac.in/sloka?field_kanda_tid=1&language=dv&field_sarga_value=1

Evolved Grammar of Sanskrit and Grammar in Ramayana

उदारवृत्तार्थपदैर्मनोरमैः
तदास्य रामस्य चकारकीर्तिमान् ।
समाक्षरैश्श्लोकशतैर्यशस्विनो
यशस्करं काव्यमुदारधीर्मुनि: ।।1.2.42।।

Meaning: The renowned and sagacious sage composed a kavya with hundreds of charming verses, each containing equal number of syllables and excellent meaningful words set in metre, conferring glory on celebrated Rama.

Corollary: The grammar of the language should have been sufficiently advanced enough for one to write it in a certain metre.

Source: https://www.valmiki.iitk.ac.in/sloka?field_kanda_tid=1&language=dv&field_sarga_value=2

चतुर्विंशत्सहस्राणि श्लोकानामुक्तवानृषि:।
तथा सर्गशतान्पञ्च षट्काण्डानि तथोत्तरम् ।।1.4.2।।

Meaning: Sage Valmiki composed the Ramayanam in twentyfour thousand verses in six kandas and also Uttarakanda (consisting of five hundred cantos).

Corollary: People who are extremely proficient in English still struggle to get their words in a specific metre now. Yet here is Ramayana with 24000 shlokas in the same metre! It's a phenomenal achievement by any linguistic standards. That there are 24000 shlokas is mentioned in the Ramayana itself. This is like CRC checks in modern computer systems communication!

Source: https://www.valmiki.iitk.ac.in/sloka?field_kanda_tid=1&language=dv&field_sarga_value=4

Did the Vedas exist before Ramayana was written?

स तु मेधाविनौ दृष्ट्वा वेदेषु परिनिष्ठितौ।
वेदोपबृंहणार्थाय तावग्राहयत प्रभु:।।1.4.6।।

Meaning: Valmiki, the master, having found both Kusa and Lava endowed with intellect and accomplished in the Vedas initiated them into the Ramayana composed by him for the purpose of nourishing the Vedas.

Corollary: Some may get a question looking at this passage if it is true Vyasa was the one who compiled the Vedas! A very logical question - Krishna Dwaipayana was his name and he became Veda Vyasa because he 'classified' the Vedas into four as Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharvana. But it does not mean that Veda did not exist before Vyasa. It very much did.

Vyasa himself talks about Valmiki and Ramayana in the Mahabharata. So, it is also clear that the Valmiki predates Vyasa and that Vedas predate even Rama's life story. Otherwise, there is no need for Valmiki to have mentioned it in this Shloka. It was also clear that even young children were taught Vedas because Lava and Kusa had already been proficient in Vedas before they took up the task of taking Ramayana to everywhere.

Source: https://www.valmiki.iitk.ac.in/sloka?field_kanda_tid=1&language=dv&field_sarga_value=4

Agricultural Tamilnadu or Industrial Tamilnadu - Way Forward!?

2018-06-28T16:41:00.001+05:30

Is Tamilnadu really an Agriculture-based state?

We all love this wonderful picture. After all, who doesn't love the feel of lush green paddy fields.

We have seen it in enough Tamil movies and most families have heard stories of how their forefathers were once land owners. Those were dreamy days ... (in fact anything in past appears rosy!)

Love for this picture is also why every time there is a new 'industry' coming up, we see it as killing agriculture. We protest new industries, thinking we are right in protecting the 'agricultural state'.

Some people in IT are thinking that apart from them, everyone else is in farming. Same goes with some people working in industries. Let's address this misconception first.

We will systematically see what is contributing to the state's growth.

Farming contributes to less than 10% of the state's GDP. If agriculture is not contributing much to the GSDP, what is causing the GDP to increase? The obvious answer is 'Services' sector and 'Manufacturing' industry. This statistic is enough to debunk the theory that 'everyone else' is into farming. Source: http://www.tn.gov.in/dear/Agriculture.pdf

Hmm ... that is alright, but surely this must be because we have destroyed agriculture over time, isn't it?

The truth can again be found from Statistics published by the Agriculture department itself.

The average size of land holding in the State further reduced from 1.45 hectare in 1970-71 to 0.80 hectare in 2010-11.

This clearly indicates that majority of people have moved away from Agriculture.

Does this mean, Agriculture production has fallen drastically in Tamilnadu?

After all, it should be logical that since less cultivation is being done, we are heading towards a food famine! But is it a fact? Statistics again say 'NO'!

We have in fact gone up from 75.04 Lakh tonnes in food production in 2009-10 to 85.46 Lakh tonnes in 2013-14 as a state! This is actually several times higher compared to what used to be in 1970-71 when the land usage was fairly high.

Rice production alone in Tamilnadu has gone up from 51.83 Lakh tonnes in 2008-09 to 57.26 Lakh tonnes in 2013-14. We have so much surplus that we are actually exporting rice.

Pulses production has gone up from 1.67 Lakh tonnes in 2008-09 to 3.20 Lakh tonnes in 2013-14. Similarly Cotton production has gone up from 1.88 Lakh tonnes in 2008-09 to 3.18 Lakh tonnes in 2013-14.

As per the Final Estimate of 2015-16, the food grain production of the State is 113.69 Lakh MT which is 43% increase over the food grain production achieved in 2010-11. Check the latest statistics: http://cms.tn.gov.in/sites/default/files/documents/agri_e_pn_2017_18.pdf

Anybody with some sense of inquisition will ask how the production increased if the land use for agriculture is decreasing.

The simple answer lies in bringing better agricultural methods and mechanisation of farming that has happened over years. The state Government is already working on this as can be referred in the above document.

In fact, the biggest complaint for Tamilnadu farmers in 2018 is that there is surplus produce and they are not getting enough demand in the market due to which revenues are stagnant for them. Improving post-harvest management is one of the major challenges the sector is facing in 2018.

So, does it make sense now to have more people get into farming or away from it?

It is definitely sensible for some more people to get away from a sector that is contributing to less than 10% of the state's GDP and into the sector that is actually contributing more - 'manufacturing'.

Where are the jobs then?

Agriculture is very much required for the state, but we are already doing very well there. Even if 25% more people move away from Agriculture, we will still be quite ok. In fact, the sector's loss making will come down.

Agriculture is not the most important problem the state should be addressing now. Tamilnadu as a state is doing pathetic (since before 2010) in terms of jobs creation.

If you really want to know how jobs are being created across the nation, check this out: https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/lZu1VYv8LXeM8djd4UagMM/The-jobs-statistics-debate-A-good-starting-point.html

This is something every Tamil Youth should understand. Industrial development is required for jobs creation.

Agriculture can sustain the economy only so much, simply because that is all the demand from rest of the world for our food products.

If we keep fighting industries from coming into Tamilnadu, the state will be doomed and nothing can be done to restore the damage after that. Already the damage is setting in and needs to be corrected.

Is Tamilnadu really losing out on industrial opportunities?

Every statistic and business magazine is screaming a big 'YES'!

“Our state lost opportunities, especially from Kia Motors (which has broken ground in Andhra Pradesh)” said CII-Tamil Nadu chairman P Ravichandran. While the share of investments attracted by Tamil Nadu has been on a downhill since 2015, it has been increasing in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat and Maharashtra, according to data compiled by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Union ministry of commerce & industry.

Check this out: https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/tamil-nadu-industrial-hub-or-bane/1152719/

Time to reverse this trend and welcome industrial growth and development in the state...

Should we blindly accept all industries?

No!

Every industry should be vetted out and environmental violation law enforcement has to be strict. But if for every single development step, protests are made, it will discourage industries from stepping into the state itself.

Being emotional is ok but being rash and emotional is dangerous for you as well as the country!

Varna, Jati, Politics and Chaos

2018-06-14T15:12:00.000+05:30

What was this caste discrimination in India called Varnas? Were Shudras really prevented from reading Vedas?

Such questions are coming up because we do not know our own family history and our country's history well enough. Most people who gain their knowledge through social media memes suffer this disorder. This is also a common argument put forth by the ignorant ones blindly believing their Dravidian politicians in South India.

A Varna is not a Caste or Jati

First of all, one needs to understand that a Varna is not a Caste. Indian society all over the Indian subcontinent (including Tamilnadu) had 4 Varnas generally:

- Brahamana, propagators of knowledge
- Kshatriya, protectors of state & country
- Vaisya, one who indulges in commerce and agriculture
- Shudra, one who works on other tasks in society

One who is born to a Shudra father / mother need not be a Shudra. Even if you are born in a Brahmin family, if you are not a propagator of knowledge, you are not a Brahamana! Simple and straight forward ... Depending on one's daily work only, one was categorised in this manner.

One more thing - do you realize that one is not all the time a Brahmana or all the time a Kshatriya or Shudra for that matter? Let's say you are into agriculture as main business. By that virtue, you are a Vaisya. But you might also be into teaching others in your village. By that virtue, you are a Brahmana. One's Varna is known by the 'predominant' virtue of what they do and adopt.

Stephanie Jamison and Joel Brereton, a professor of Sanskrit and Religious studies, state, "there is no evidence in the Rigveda for an elaborate, much-subdivided and overarching caste system", and "the varna system seems to be embryonic in the Rigveda and, both then and later, a social ideal rather than a social reality". Source is Wikipedia page on this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varna_(Hinduism)

Historical examples

People might have exploited this whole system later by establishing rigidity around it and claiming their right by birth. That was not so earlier and I am going to give concrete examples from our history.

(1) Valmiki who wrote the Ramayana was a hunter / robber who later was reformed by Sage Narada. There is a caste of people called VALMIKIS in South India who are said to have come in the lineage of Sage Valmiki. Unfortunately, they take pride in identifying themselves as Shudras now! Anyway, Valmiki actually taught Vedas and the art of weaponry to Luv & Kush who are the sons of Rama. If he was not considered a Brahmana, who else was?

(2) Vyasa who wrote the Mahabharata and is known to have actually categorized the Vedas was born to Matsya Gandhi, a fisher woman. He was named Krishna Dwaipayana, the dark one born in an island, at birth. The very name VYASA means the 'Compiler' denoting his work on the Vedas. By birth, he should have been a Shudra. But by his deeds and dedication of life to teaching people, he was praised by everyone as a Brahmana only! There is a huge Guru Parampara that follows Vyasa muni. So, if he was a Shudra, how could he have learnt and work on the Vedas?

(3) Parashurama is known as someone who went about waging wars with Kshatriyas and killed many of them. Though he was born in a Brahmana family (to Sage Jamadagni), by his deeds he came to be a Kshatriya. Was he denied the knowledge of Vedas? No!

(4) Many of us know from Mahabhrata that Guru Dronacharya and King Drupada studied in the same Gurukul and learnt the same arts as children. Now Drona was a Brahmana and Drupada was a Kshatriya. But both of them were taught the Veda Mantras and art of weaponry by their Guru. Does this indicate a discrimination in teaching?

(5) There is a specific episode in Mahabharata where Yudhishthira and a Yaksha debate on the moral principles of that time. To the specific question by the Yaksha asking about one's Varna, Yudhisthira answers clearly and emphatically that nobody can claim their Varna by birth but it is by deeds only.

(6) A King born as Kaushika rules his kingdom for a long time as a Kshatriya but later gives it all up for severe penance. He is later recognized as Brahma-rishi and is now widely known by the name 'Vishwamitra'. Clearly Varna by birth did not decide what he would become.

(7) Krishna clearly states in Bhagavad Gita:

cāturvarṇyaṃ mayā sṛṣṭaṃ guṇakarmavibhāgaśaḥ .
tasya kartāramapi māṃ viddhyakartāramavyayam ... 4:13

"I have created this four-fold Varna order according to the quality of work."

Modern day's Interpretation

Going by these examples,

(1) If you have a good professor (not the leftist ones like in JNU) in your school or college, he / she would need to be recognized as a Brahmana.

(2) If you are in the IT industry in a menial job, at best you could be called a Vysya or a Shudra, even if you are born in a Brahmana family.

Is this Varna system explained only in the Hindu texts?

No! There is a Buddhist text called 'Digha Nikaya' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digha_Nikaya) which talks about an interesting discussion between Gautama Buddha and a Brahmana called Sonadanda that throws more light on how Varnas were treated in more recent times.

Buddha: By how many qualities do Brahmins recognize another Brahmin? How would one declare truthfully and without falling into falsehood?

Sonadanda: I will list five characteristics to recognize another Brahmin. He is of pure descent on both the mother's and the father's side, he is well versed in mantras, he is of fair color handsome and pleasing, he is virtuous learned and wise, and he is the first or second to hold the sacrificial ladle.

Buddha: If we omit one of these qualities you just listed, could not one be still a true Brahmin?

Sonadanda, one by one, eliminates fair colour and looks, then eliminates Varna in which one was born, and then eliminates the ability to recite mantra and do sacrifices as a requirement of being a Brahmin. Sonadanda asserts that just two qualities are necessary to truthfully and without falling into falsehoold identify a Brahmin; these two qualities are "being virtuous and being learned and wise".

Sonadanda then states that it is impossible to reduce the requirement for being a Brahmin any further, because "for wisdom is purified by morality, and morality is purified by wisdom; where one is, the other is, the moral man has wisdom and the wise man has morality, and the combination of morality and wisdom is called the highest thing in the world".

Sonadanda: We only know this much Gotama; it would be well if Holy Gotama would explain meaning of the two [morality, wisdom] more.

Interestingly, there is a text on Jainism called 'Adi Purana' by Janasena (8th Century AD) that talks about this too! The Adi purana text states "there is only one jati called manusyajati or the human caste, but divisions arise account of their different professions".

It is clear that at least the identification of one's predominant qualities formed the basis of Varna in Gautama Buddha's time and as late as the 8th Century AD.

What should we do now?

Unfortunately, a lot of our scriptures and text were lost and burnt during the Islamic invasions thereafter (read about burning of Nalanda if you are interested) and we miss a precious lot of social thought and dynamics after 1000 AD.

In my personal opinion, we should bring back everyone to the profession-based identification system and restore the societal balance accordingly. It is high time the current (and silly, may I add) caste system being endorsed by Indian politicians from 20th Century AD is discarded and thrown out of the window.

Kohinoor and the Kakatiya Connection

2018-06-14T12:07:00.002+05:30

Many of us have heard about the #Kohinoor diamond and that it was looted away from India to Britain. But do you know that the diamond was unearthed in Kollur on the banks of Krishna river during the Kakatiya reign?

The #Kakatiya rule is said to be one of the golden ages of Telugu history and yet we hardly find any description of their rule over 250 years in our history books!

Rudramadevi or Rudramba is probably the only ruler one might have heard of Kakatiyas, and that too after the recent movies in her name

Rudramadevi is a glorious example of how women had to struggle to ascend to power despite being born in a royal family and how sheer will & grit can achieve it. Despite initial misgivings by some of her own generals who resented a female ruler, she suppressed the internal rebellions successfully. She made her valour well known by handing out defeats to Rajendra Chola's incursion and rebutting invasions from the Yadavas of Devagiri.

Despite having constant battles throughout their reign against either the internal rebels or the external foes, the #Kakatiya rulers were great patrons of art and music. The Thousand Pillars Rudreswara temple at Hanumkonda and Ramappa temple at Palampet are great examples of the art at that time.

Oh, if you did not know it already, Warangal was the capital city of Kakatiyas for a long time and derives its name from 'Orugallu' or 'EkaSila', pointing to the huge boulder around which its fort was built. Those who know Tamil can immediately identify that 'Oru kallu' means 'one rock'

Did you know that Kohinoor diamond was originally weighing 793 carats. It was cut several times over centuries. In 1852, Queen Victoria decided to reshape the diamond and it was cut down to 108.93 carats. This is just like the Kakatiya kingdom which sadly very few people know about now, though at its peak, it was one of the biggest & richest kingdoms in India.

There are so many social and political dynamics that one can learn from Indian History. Let's not miss these gems.

Urmila, the unsung heroine of Ramayana

2018-06-14T11:59:00.000+05:30

Not much is known of Urmila the wife of Lakshmana. I am trying here to throw some light on this unsung heroine of the Ramayana. There is a good online reference about her:

http://www.newindianexpress.com/…/Urmila-The-Sleeping-Princ…

I am reproducing the story here:

When Rama, the Prince of Ayodhya, was exiled to the forest for 14 years as per the wishes of Kaikeyi, his father’s youngest queen, Sita, his wife, insisted that she accompany him to the forest.

“A woman’s place is with her husband and I shall go wherever you go. Please do not stop me. If it’s your duty to follow the orders of your father, it is mine to follow you to the ends of the earth.” The young princess was stubborn and Rama had no choice but to let her have her way.

As for Lakshmana, his younger brother, there was no question that he would let his brother go into exile on his own. From their days in the cradle, they were always together.

“Dear Rama, you know you have no choice but to let me come with you. All I want to do is to take care of you and Devi Sita,” said Lakshmana when his brother tried to dissuade him.

Lakshmana was married to Urmila, Sita’s younger sister. He hurried to her chambers to break the news to her. Gently, Lakshmana, gently, he told himself. He knew that Urmila was a spirited princess too. After all, she was a princess of Sita's stature and of course, he was being a bit unfair to her.

Urmila had heard from her sister that she was accompanying her husband and when Lakshmana announced that he was going too, she was least perturbed. “Oh, we must go with them...” she began cheerfully, her beautiful eyes lighting up at the thought them all going off into the great unknown.

“Not we, Urmila, just me,” said Lakshmana gently. “You must stay behind and take care of our old parents, when we are away.”

“But a wife’s place is beside her husband. Isn’t sister Sita going? She has told me herself. If you are going, I come too.”

“I know you are right, dear Urmila. It is just that if I were to take you along, it would be a huge responsibility for me. The forest is a dangerous place with evil asuras and wild animals lurking in unknown corners. I will need all my wits about me to focus on protecting my dear brother and his wife. Please understand and make this sacrifice for me.”

Lakshmana knew he was being unfair but his life was dedicated to his brother and Urmila knew that too.

“As you wish...” whispered the princess tearfully and bid adieu to her husband.

Rama, Sita and Lakshmana left for their exile. When the night fell and all the world was asleep, Lakshmana stayed awake watching over his beloved brother and his wife. One night as he sat outside his brother’s dwelling, a luminous form appeared before him. When his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw before him a resplendent goddess. She smiled at him. “How are you going to do this, Lakshmana?” asked she.

“Do what?” Lakshmana was puzzled for he knew not who she was and what she was getting at.

“Sleep… everybody needs to sleep. I’m Nidra Devi, the goddess of sleep. Are you going to spend 14 years of your brother’s exile without sleep? It will be impossible!”

“But I will not and I cannot sleep, for I intend to watch over my brother day and night,” said Lakshmana.

“I know your devotion, Lakshmana. But no living creature can survive without sleep. That is the universal law! Unless…” the goddess paused.

“Unless... what?” Lakshmana seized upon that pause.

“Unless there is someone else who will do that for you,” smiled the goddess. “Someone who will have all the sleep you need for the 14 years while you are here in exile! Is there someone who will do that for you?”

Lakshmana smiled in relief. He knew he could count on someone, his wife! “My wife, Urmila... she will surely take my place for me.”

“I will go at once to the palace of Ayodhya and ask her,” said the Goddess and disappeared as she had come.

And of course Urmila did offer to take Lakshmana’s share of sleep and went into a deep slumber for all the 14 years he was away. Which is one of the main reasons why, no one speaks of Urmila throughout The Ramayana.

Because of this ability of not sleeping for years, Lakshmana was eventually able to vanquish Meghnad or Indrajit, the son of Ravana. At the end of the exile when Lakshmana comes back to Ayodhya, the sleep cycle is restored for both of them.

There is also something called 'Uttara Ramayana', the story of what happened after Rama was coronated as King. This section of the Ramayana talks about Lakshmana and Urmila being blessed with two sons - Angada and Chandraketu.

Angada ruled a place called Karupath or Angadiya, that is part of current day Orissa. Chandraketu ruled a place specially carved out for him in the Malla kingdom, which is in modern day Nepal. This same Malla kingdom as well as Ayodhya were later brought under Hastinapura rule by Bheema while they went on military campaign for Rajasuya yagna (part of Mahabharat story).

So, there is a pretty long legacy for many places in our country. Will be back soon with some more interesting tidbits ..

Seeman, the king of faulty economic policies

2018-06-06T13:09:00.000+05:30

I happened to come across a post by Mr Maridhas who is a writer / teacher.

https://www.facebook.com/Maridhas11/posts/578192999232981

For those who do not understand Tamil, this post is about the faulty logic in Mr Seeman, leader of NTK party in Tamilnadu, who has made some wild promises in his political manifesto. Maridhas does a great job in ripping apart the manifesto to pieces. Pardon me for any translation mistakes that creep in...

Myth: Seeman proposes an economy that is self-dependent

This is not true and is something that can be proposed only by someone who does not understand how economics works.

What is self-dependent economy?

A country should be able to make everything that it needs within its own geo-political boundaries. It will not be dependent on another country for any of its economic purposes. Only such a system can be called a self-dependent economy. This is a common aspiration for many nations but not something new.

What is our country's current economic state?

India is self-sufficient in terms of food grains production and also exports to other countries. We are doing well enough to be in the top three food exporting countries across the world. So, what are the things we are dependent for on other countries? Simply said, we need to look at what we import from other countries. If we can produce them within India, we can become self-dependent economy.

This seems very logical. But what Seeman is proposing as self-dependent economy is not addressing this basis at all. Instead, it is a romanticised version just inducing people's emotions, talking about things like jaggery, pickles, neem, etc. Just matching rhyme to rhythm does not yield the results!

What are we really importing as a country?

Then Mr Maridhas goes on to argue the following in his video:

(1) ISRO has been instrumental in launching over 100 satellites of Arab countries recently into the space. Why should the Arab countries come to India? Simply because they do not have the technology for it and we do. India charges a fixed amount for that service. So, as far as Satellite launching, Arab countries are dependent on India. And India in turn is dependent on those countries for Crude oil simply because we do not produce enough within our country. This is how one country is dependent on another for a certain resource.

(2) Though being self-dependent economy is an idealistic goal for each country, we should constantly need to look at improving our manufacturing / producing power. If we do not have certain resources at all in our country, we have to look at others. But whatever we can make here, we should look at doing it effectively than importing. That is what will lead us towards being self-dependent in economy.

This is what EVERY country in the world, big or small, does it. India also does the same already!

(a) More than 70% of crude oil for India is being imported. Because we are not allowed to take more than 30% of our needs from our own natural resources. Can we move away from it? Yes, if we start going with electrical vehicles. Till then, it is impossible to not rely on crude oil imports.

(b) Around 33% of our imports is transport equipments - land, water and air transport machinery requirements! Our own ship manufacturing. Road transport is primarily dependent on imports from Germany and other European countries. Can we get out of this? Sure, we have to have the technology and resources to manufacture in India itself first.

(d) Electronics is about 10% of our total imports. Our internal electronics needs of about 58% is from these imports! Can we make these within our

(e) Industrial equipments and machinery is mainly from imports, including the power looms & stitching machines in major cotton dress manufacturers from Tirupur and Erode. Same is the case of paper industries in Sivakasi and Leather machines in Ambur. Most of our industrial machinery is only being imported.

(3) Almost 90% of medical equipments are being imported from USA, Europe and Japan. This is simply because we do not make them here.

(4) From small toys to mobiles to most other plastic items, we are importing from China.

(5) Copper and Aluminium resources are not being dug up much in our country as we are simply importing them. If we dig them up, these same people will cry hoarse about environment issues!

Are we dependent much on other countries for food?

Obviously, No!! So, anybody who wishes to address the self-dependency of economy should address the imports first! Can we make these within our country itself? We can definitely work towards that. But not with the policies Seeman puts forth.

One has to focus on the Engineering sector, especially since we have about 8 in 10 Engineers who can be employed in the sector. Our education sector also has to be reformed first. Majority of our country's imports are in this sector, but Seeman is proposing something ridiculous in agricultural sector. Totally irrelevant!

Instead of talking about ridiculous stuff like selling neem sticks, juices and soup to boost economy, Seeman should really look at what the country is first dependent on if he wants to make the country self-dependent. Does he even know what the demand-supply ratio for these items is?

What should we really do as voters?

Maridhas urges viewers to vote for any political party of their idealogical choice, but depending on how sound their economic policies are. Because, however idealogically strong or appealing a political party may be, if they mess up on economy, it will be disastrous for the state and country as a whole.

Maridhas says he is willing to challenge Seeman on these items in any debate anywhere and any time.

The gauntlet is thrown - will NTK party have the guts to pick it up for a fight? I doubt that ..

Science and Yogic Culture - Tasting the same divine

2018-02-08T00:03:00.002+05:30

I happened to see some people under the guise of scientists making fun of Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev's comments on Twitter, by selectively taking them out of context and making videos out of it.

It is ironic that technology can be used by anybody to suit their needs but if one pays sufficient attention, the bluff can be easily called off.

Here is gem #1.

“Today modern science has admitted that it’s an ever-expanding universe or an endless universe, rather ever expanding is a yogic term, they are calling it a endless universe" ... admitted 😁

Let's explore this first before going into others.

Till 1998, scientists did believe that the universe CANNOT be ever expanding. Till then, most popular Physicists thought the expansion of universe after the big bang would slow down and that eventually gravity would pull the parts of the cosmos back in. But then, they found that not only was the expansion not slowing down, it was speeding up. The universe was expanding at an accelerating rate.

Saul Perlmutter shared the 2011 Nobel Prize in physics for his discovery that the universe was expanding at an accelerating rate. Perlmutter explains how supernovae and other astronomical artifacts are used to measure the expansion rate, and explains what physicists are learning about "dark energy" — the mysterious entity thought to be driving the acceleration.

The source for all the arguments above has been Published by National Public Radio (USA): https://www.npr.org/2013/05/10/182861376/exploring-an-ever-expanding-universe

Apparently, the critics of Sadhguru indeed have no clue that physicists themselves have changed their stance fairly recently and 'admitting' that this is an ever expanding universe.

Though the discovery was done in 1998, further studies were conducted thereafter and the Nobel prize was given in 2011 only. However, the expanding theory of universe was not an unknown phenomenon even before 1998. Professor Arthur Holmes (1895-1965), a geologist & professor at the University of Durham, writes regarding the age of the earth in his great book, The Age of Earth (1913) as follows:

"Long before it became a scientific aspiration to estimate the age of the earth, many elaborate systems of the world chronology had been devised by the sages of antiquity. The most remarkable of these occult time-scales is that of the ancient Hindus, whose astonishing concept of the Earth's duration has been traced back to Manusmriti, a sacred book."

Mr Holmes had already mentioned in his 1913 book about the Hindu calculation of the present age of the earth and the expanding universe theory from ancient Hindu calculations.

Dick Teresi is the author and coauthor of several books about science and technology, including The God Particle. He is cofounder of Omni magazine and has written for Discover, The New York Times Magazine, and The Atlantic Monthly. Here are his words about Indian culture's contribution to cosmology:

"Indian cosmologists are the first to estimate the age of the earth at more than 4 billion years. They came closest to modern ideas of atomism, quantum physics, and other current theories. India developed very early, enduring atomist theories of matter. Possibly Greek atomistic thought was influenced by India, via the Persian civilization."

One should go through Teresi's book from 2002 "Lost Discoveries: The Ancient Roots of Modern Science - from the Babylonians to the Maya" to better understand the intertwining of scientific and cultural aspects in ancient civilizations.

In the yogic culture, there are countless stories about the cycle of destruction of universe through Pralaya and Srushti the creation. Lord Shiva's Thandava dance is supposed to be a symbolism of the cyclical nature of creation / destruction and expansion / contraction.

According to Hindu Vedic cosmology, there is no absolute start to time, as it is considered infinite and cyclic. Similarly, the space and universe has neither start nor end, rather it is cyclical per Vedic cosmology.

Modern scientists are making an assumption that what is infinite can only be cyclical, ascertaining their view of universe, deriving their theories out of Vedic scriptures.

The current universe is just the start of a present cycle preceded by an infinite number of universes and to be followed by another infinite number of universes. Modern Science, on the other hand, is still dealing with only the current universe. Actually, the ultra-modern theory of parallel universes originates from the idea of infinite number of universes.

Ancient Hindu scientists predicted that the cycle of creation and destruction continues forever & symbolized it in Shiva's form, as one who holds the drum that sounds the universe’s creation in his right hand and the flame that, billions of years later, will destroy the universe in his left.

In his landmark TV series Cosmos, Carl Sagan called Hinduism as the only religion whose time-scale for the universe matches the billions of years documented by modern science. Sagan filmed that segment in a Hindu temple (Chidambaram Nataraja temple) featuring a statue of the god Shiva as the cosmic dancer, an image that now stands in the plaza of the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Geneva.

So, clearly the joke is on those trying to make fun of Sadhguru with half-baked knowledge of both science and ancient Indian culture.

True Science does not bother where its inspiration to genius comes from, only some fake scientists do.

Vardah and Digital Economy

2016-12-15T12:56:00.001+05:30

The Central Government wants us to go towards a #Cashless economy. Sure .. great idea!

But let's see some very valid points from Chennaiites against going towards completely digital economy.

(1) Before #Vardah, we were very patient taking only 2000 rupees a day max, even though we had to pay our rents and the landlord is refusing to take online payment.

(2) Before Vardah, did you see how orderly the entire state of Tamilnadu was, even while mourning for the loss of our CM Ms Jayalalitha? We did not hoard cash during that time also.

(3) After Vardah, there is no power supply for four days now. Er ... how do we pay our bills online?

(4) After Vardah, petrol bunks and even water lorries are not accepting cards because their bank networks are not working!

(5) After Vardah, cell phone networks are still getting up on their knees even after 4 days and there is no data connectivity most of the time. Paytm options are gone ...

(6) It is only the 50 & 100 rupees that our mothers & wives had saved in kitchen boxes that is helping us run the day now.

This is a harsh reminder that unless the critical #infrastructure, including electricity / water / road / bank networks is set right, all the talk about going Cashless is just big BS. Hope the Government (both State and Central) sits up and takes notice.

We have been very supportive of #Demonetisation and #DigitalDrive so far.

Now our patience is really running thin, since we are onto our bare minimal survival and this state cannot continue for long. Hope the State government and PMO India are listening.

Demonetisation and arm-chair critics

2016-12-15T12:54:00.001+05:30

Unfortunate attitude of many Indians now-a-days:

(1) Why should I pay my #taxes in Chennai? What has this Central Government done to me?

(2) Why should I pay my taxes in Coimbatore? That money is being used for feeding somebody in Rajasthan.

(3) Why should I suffer from #demonetisation when I am not hoarding any black money?

(4) Why should I declare my income and pay my taxes in Andhra? That money goes to laying of roads in Assam!

Let's just assume everyone starts doing this - violating all rules set by the Government.

Can you imagine a 'ruleless' life? Would you even feel safe to venture out in the streets?

Let's remain sensible. Rather than questioning everything from "me, me, me" perspective, let's start giving constructive suggestions to the government as to what can be done better for society as a whole.

There are enough forums made available by this Government at least! If we are not contributing to our own governance in a constructive manner, we have no right to complain - for it is us who have forsaken our democratic responsibilities.

If this post strikes a chord within you, it is meant to be :)

Tree plantation drive: Some truths

2016-08-10T15:25:00.000+05:30

This is my response to the mockery of tree plantation drives:

One needs to understand that nobody is planting 'trees' - they are only trying to grow 'plants'.

How many plants do you think survive in each tree plantation drive? The maximum percentage reached is about 70%. So, if you grow 100 plants, maximum of 70 would only survive and that too only if great care is taken.

Just take a look at this article:

http://indianexpress.com/…/2-cr-trees-plantation-drive-buo…/

To reach merely 33% forest cover, we need "400 crore" trees. So, all these tree plantation drives are actually not sufficient enough to cover that. We are not even talking about 50% forest cover, just 33%.

Everybody can plant tree saplings. One very important factor most of us conveniently forget is the rate of deforestation:

http://time.com/4019277/trees-humans-deforestation/

We have 400 billion trees of which 15 billion trees are cut every year. This means, if nobody plants anything, we will be out of trees in the world in just a few years - within our lifetime! The plants that you grow today will not become trees by tomorrow - they take their own time.

So, my request to such people who mock is that if you don't plant trees, it is fine. Please stop making fun of people who do! This is not just for our generation but for our children as well that such tree plantation drives happen and flourish successfully.

I offer no proofs, just complaints!

2016-08-09T16:59:00.000+05:30

Breaking my blog silence after a long, long time! It has been 7 days since the controversies have been raging around Isha Foundation.

If a sane person looks back at these events, avoiding all the media hype created and emotional drama, let's see who has actually complained?

(1) A parent whose daughters have become monks against their wish
(2) A parent whose kid was expelled from Isha Home school for bad conduct
(3) A parent whose son has become a monk against her wish
(4) A police officer whose elder kid was again asked to be taken off by Isha Samskriti management

In all 4 cases, there is a clear vested interest. One may argue that anybody who opposes some XYZ organization will have a vested interest. Let me ask you a couple of questions:

"How many times have you changed your job because you did not like the manager? In that case, did you become dead against the organization as well? If so, would an otherwise emotionally balanced person call your anger against the organization professional or unprofessional?"

"How many times did you take your kid off the school because his / her teacher scolded them for some mischief they did? If you did, would an otherwise emotionally balanced person call your anger against the organization professional or unprofessional?"

If in both cases your answer was that it would be called 'unprofessional', why is the same logic not applicable to these allegations against Isha Foundation as well? Just because their sons or daughters did not listen to them or could not be controlled by them, they have turned against Isha Foundation.

Mind you, all of them have based their allegations only on their supposed personal experience but have not produced any proofs for it!

What the media has done with it though is take the allegation, blow it up several folds with emotional drama and made it all appear like facts. People need to understand and separate facts from fiction, before coming to a conclusion.

Once all the dust settle from the hue & cry raised by media, hope thinking minds and sanity prevail!

Best Thanksgiving Ever!

2014-11-27T08:55:00.000+05:30

I clearly remember the day I met the boy - 18th October, 2014. He was explaining his thoughts about inventing a motor bike that will reduce the environmental pollution using electrical batteries. His dad does repairs of electrical equipment and that he would garner more knowledge about them as he grows up.

I was stunned at his clarity of thought, given that he is only in his 7th standard and might not even fully understand about environmental pollution or the engineering complexities involved. Yet his vision is crystal clear!

But what surprised us was his next answer and it just completely moved us. Abi casually asked him how he feels about studying in that school. The boy replied jubilantly that he loves the school, his teachers and above all would like to contribute the high marks in his school subjects to ... the donors of his scholarship. Yes, he studies on scholarship because his parents cannot afford even the minimal fee the school charges and he is 'thankful' to the donor. You can see one of the videos on YouTube like this one...

How many of us have cared to thank our parents for helping us with the most precious gifts of our life, our exposure to the world, our education, college graduation, career, etc.? And here is a 12 year old boy who innocently (and with absolute sincerity and clarity) contributing his marks to his donors for sponsoring!

Tears well up in my eyes just thinking about it. This is not just my experience. Dozens of people who have visited the Isha Vidhya school in Sandhegoundampalayam at Coimbatore have a similar thing to share.

This Isha Vidhya school houses hundreds of students who come from such poor families that cannot afford couple of meals properly for a day, forget about quality english education. Yet the school provides no less to these students in terms of either quality educational aids, English classes, math labs (seriously!), computer labs or library books. More than 60% of the school's children are studying under scholarship provided by generous donors like you and me.

Do my colleagues know me well enough to wish me good always? I doubt it :)

Will my neighbours wish me good always? Probably no.

Would my very best friends wish me good always? May be, May be not.

But I can be absolutely certain that the kid I am sponsoring for school, will wish me good always in his / her life. What I am doing by a few thousand rupees is actually transforming a life!

When I see the children greeting us with a loud & clear 'Namaskaram', folded hands, wide smile, following perfect orders without monitoring of any teachers, absolutely confident, jubilant and conversant fluently in English, I am assured of the dream that 'yes, India can be a super power'. It might just be that these kids will be driving us towards that dream even if nobody else does.

They come from poor families but their spirits are so high, it will be a crime not to encourage them further in their lives!

Please donate whatever amount you can for these kids. No amount is less for lighting the lamp of education in a child's life.

I have created a page "http://www.giveisha.org/rajasekharv" for the cause. This might just be the best use of money you have ever put to in your life!

(Re)Defining Law

2014-10-12T12:03:00.000+05:30

Abi was petrified when she learnt on the day of her audit that the actions taken against some key risks in her IT project team had not been documented so far. Of course, her project auditor would quickly figure that out and grill her, leading to escalations and her senior managers jumping up & down! This is not an uncommon scenario for most of us who have been in IT for a long time. The designations could vary and scenarios could slightly vary, but you get the picture mostly.

When someone asks what would you do on encountering a problem (a risk), 99% of sane people would respond that they will fix the problem on hand now (also called contingency action) and also put a fix so the probability of the problem occuring in future is minimized greatly (called mitigation action). All of this is common sense, well ... mostly.

Why then is this common sense / knowledge not being applied to law? Let me draw a parallel from the above IT management scenario and show the link.

As a common citizen, I want law in my place (city, state, country) to be enforced in such a way that:

- First, a problem (lawlessness) can be identified and reported smoothly
- Secondly, a quick solution, even if temporary, be put in place to resolve the situation for now
- Thirdly, a long-term solution be put in place that acts as deterrent for anyone who tries to create such problems

At the risk of getting hit with some negative comments from readers, let me take the latest legal sensation - Ms J Jayalalitha, ex-CM of Tamilnadu (acting CM at that time) being jailed in a corruption case. Her bail pleas were also rejected. This led to some potential unrest situations in several cities and definitely impacted public life, even if the media claims it as minimal.

First, the reporting mechanism is not smooth under current law. As a common citizen, is it even possible for me to think of reporting against someone in that position? Definitely no. It need not be the CM, I cannot even go and lodge a legal complaint against the next door person who creates lot of nuisance to everyone in the street, at least not easily under the current system.

Secondly, the temporary solution that was put in place in this case was to arrest her and make her pay 100 crores as a fine.

Thirdly, what is the long-term solution that the legal system is putting in place for such crimes? Am ok with taking the money back part of it. In fact, take 200 crores and keep them under house arrest. At least, if THAT money goes to the country (properly used), it will be of some use. Strip a person convicted in a crime from their position and rank. All is well so far!

But why would you want to jail them? The legal / judiciary system would have to pay somebody to monitor that person, pay for their food, take care of their medical expenses, etc. Who would bear the brunt if something happens on medical grounds to that person in jail? Why should someone who has taken lot of money enjoy all such comforts with my tax-money!?

It has already become a joke (many a movie can confirm it) that if you do not have any money, do some petty crime and get into jail. You will enjoy food and comforts that you cannot find outside. I have begun to suspect that probably many crimes happen because of this!

We need to redefine the legal system in this country. The law has to be made simple enough for everyone to understand. We should not complicate things too much by putting many restrictions. Just give the guidelines that X, Y, Z has to be adhered to. If somebody violates it, accordingly the punishment has to be delivered & quickly.

I fully understand that any system when put in place, will look nice but will have to changed slightly over time. I understand that punishments will have to vary for a similar crime don't keep customizing the punishments every now and then, definitely not so many times within 70 years of the formation of such a system itself!

Will put in more thoughts about it soon ...

What is the cost of trust?

2014-09-20T01:05:00.002+05:30

"Wow .. this article is so cool!" You are my friend. So, I just read this and am sharing with you now.

How many times have you had this impulse to share something with your friends and family? It might have been something that you read or you saw as video or heard as audio over the internet. But have you really confirmed the genuineness of the information & its source before publishing it?

Of late, I am seeing too many articles - mostly opinions - being thrown around as if they are the ultimate source of information! Are we becoming a generation gone bonkers just blindly accepting information (especially some nameless XYZ's opinions on ABC person, just because they happen to write a big article about it or take a fake video) from the internet?

Ironically, some of these internet articles would be eye-openers for people who read and accept information on internet without questioning its authenticity:

http://www.crisscrossed.net/2010/01/08/when-do-we-trust-an-information-source/#

http://guides.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/content.php?pid=209679&sid=1746802

http://askleo.com/why_you_should_never_blindly_trust_an_online_recommendation_even_mine/

This is not to say one cannot have opinions or post them online. Just don't pass it on as 'information' to someone who would take it so on face value. Trust me, you will not appear as a fool much. Instead, your honesty will sparkle when you say "My friend ABC told this to me from his experience ..." than saying "I know this ...". Do the latter and you are doing an injustice to yourself & the other person.

The point is, treat everything you read on the internet with a healthy dose of skepticism. If the information is coming from your close friend or a relative who you really trust, you MAY choose to accept it. Still, while passing the same to another person, one should treat it as second-hand information only!

An ode to my love :)

2014-07-23T11:27:00.000+05:30

Nay, am not a big fan of celebrating 'special' days!
10 years is too long a time, but passed off in a jiffy.
This celebration is not about the sweetness of just today
It is about all the countless days and nights
We loved, fought, argued, cried, laughed and played!
For my life would never've been so rich or beautiful or colourful
if you had not been my companion!
Wouldn't have wanted life in any other way when you are with me :)

Thiru thonda thogai

2014-06-22T19:25:00.000+05:30

Thiru thonda thogai - So very beautifully rendered by the Isha Samskriti kids!

The youtube link for video is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ztNuezFjAc&list=UUgaiWfiix1zaQS6Mn5SIw2g

thillaivaazh andhanar tham adiyaarkkum adiyEn
thiruneela kandaththuk kuyavanaark kadiyEn

illaiyE ennaadha iyarpagaikkum adiyEn
iraiyaanRan kudimaaran adiyaarkkum adiyEn

vellumaa migavalla meypporuLuk kadiyEn
viripozhil chool kunRaiyaar viRanmiNdark kadiyEn

allimen mullaiyandhaar amarneethik kadiyEn
aarooran aarooril ammaanuk kaaLE

ilaimalindha vElnambi eRipaththark kadiyEn
Enaadhi naatharthan adiyaarkkum adiyEn

kalaimalindha cheernambi kaNNappark kadiyEn
kadavooriR kalayandran adiyaarkkum adiyEn

malaimalindha thOLvaLLal maanakkan chaaRan
enchaadha vaattaayan adiyaarkkum adiyEn

alaimalindha punalmaNgai aanaayark kadiyEn
aarooran aarooril ammaanuk kaaLE

Sannidhi - A Revelation In Our Life

2014-02-18T16:09:00.001+05:30

One MahaShivarathri night a few years back, after the midnight meditation with Sadhguru, many Isha meditators were gathering around something and taking turns to bow down. Some of them just sat still on the carpets there. I was a distant watcher for some time. When curiosity got the better of me, I went to see what it was. The long queues discouraged mere onlookers and only the persistent ones made it.

When I went closer, to be honest, I did not know what to make out of it. Though I had heard of 'paadham' before, this was the first time I am seeing something like that. I just bowed down, took the vibhuthi prasadam and moved on. That this simple darshan would bring a profound change in my life was not even in my distant dreams!

Over time, I heard from other meditators that Sadhguru Sannidhi was very powerful, charged up, etc. We also heard from one of the Isha teachers that his mother just used to sit before Sannidhi daily during the presence time (6:20 PM) without doing anything and bliss out!

Then, Abi and I registered for bringing Sadhguru Sannidhi home a couple of years back. As we were (rather stupidly) apprehensive of 'maintaining' its sanctity in our house, we registered it for my parents living separately. I vividly remember the day an Isha meditator came to consecrate it at my parents' house. The person said 'Anna - Please choose where you want to place. You should not move it around just like that later.'

My heart sank at this comment! It was with great difficulty that I had persuaded my mom to drive up the attic some of the gods in her pooja room and make space on the granite marble for Sannidhi. However the consecration went on smoothly. My mother was surprisingly hooked on and started doing the Sannidhi pooja almost daily.

The whole house felt quite different & charged up the very next weekend we visited them! I was doing my Surya Namaskar & Shambhavi Kriya in the hall (Sannidhi was a good distance away in the pooja room) and it was all happening so effortlessly for me. My 4-year-old daughter, who used to be very clinging to us all the time, was suddenly behaving so matured and still having fun with everyone around! That weekend was our first-hand experience of how Sannidhi can transform the atmosphere of an entire house within such a short span of time!

My mom still does the pooja on many days without fail. Her practices have become more regular, her health and the overall peace in family are so much better now. These are definitely not coincidental :)

It was almost one year back that His grace descended upon us and we were able to register for bringing Sadhguru Sannidhi home. It so happened that we were to receive one of the 108 Sannidhis being distributed in Chennai on the MahaShivarathri night of 2013. How fitting an entry!?

Brindha akka came to our home, inspected the space we were going to hold Him in and performed the consecration process. I remember even today how bewildering and unbelievable it was for me that we had taken such a step.

The transformation we have undergone started with Bhairavi entering our home and once Sannidhi came in, the pace has been faster thereon. We do our Sannidhi pooja quite regularly and the very experience of sitting in that space before Bhairavi Yantra and Sadhguru Sannidhi is enough to settle us down most of the time.

While offering Guru Pooja at home in any room feels like it is in His presence. Apart from our practices becoming more regular & more volunteering opportunities coming our way pulling us up higher, we have been blessed with Sadhguru's darshan ever so frequently and more visits to the Ashram.

Since then, we have had the good fortune of witnessing two blessed individuals convert the rooftops in their homes to house Sadhguru Sannidhi. The transformation of these spaces has been very visible and they are being revered as the Isha local centers now at Nanganallur and Medavakkam.

These lines truly resound what Sannidhi means in our lives.

Un padam panindhen,

ennaye marandhen!

Un padam panindhen,

ennulle malarndhen!!

Similar experiences galore in our friends and family circle. Now, living in a consecrated space like this has sunk in so much, we feel odd when we see someone without such an opportunity!

[PS: This MahaShivarathri, there is an opportunity for willing individuals to receive Sadhguru Sannidhi in Chennai itself. Interested people can contact me or call +91 9789983260]

Problem solving and Common sense

2014-01-01T19:44:00.000+05:30

If all things remain the same, you will not get out of a problem. If you keep all the base parameters the same, when a problem arises, it will not go off until you change one or more parameters. I believe this concept stands fine against the causal analysis theory as well.

This is a well known idea in the scientific circles and a lot of people I know credit the quote or a similar one to Einstein. But how many of us relate it to our daily ailments?

I called up my dad and asked suggestions for the mild cough & throat infection that was kicking in. I had purchased some allopathy medicines and was hesitant to take them right away considering them to be of stronger dosage.

His advice: "See, your cough / cold has come from external atmospheric influence. And the weather is not going to change overnight! If that remains the same, the only way the cough / throat infection will behave is increase in intensity. So, take the medicine right away to curb it quickly."

Plain common sense in hind sight, but I was amazed at its correlation to the theory. I knew it but did not apply my thought in that direction. I do not know if he knows about this concept of parameters but he knows for sure how to apply it to daily life! :)

Who is the hero?

2013-11-20T19:47:00.000+05:30

This is a riddle, actually a story .. a little longer one though. You would have to read through to the end and find out who the hero is!

His is a typical rags to riches story, epitomized in so many Tamil movies. He is the General Manager of a big manufacturing company now, very fluent in English, highly computer savvy, drives a nice car and visits foreign countries regularly for Business meetings. He however has not forgotten his roots and visits his parents every fortnight, who preferred to stay back in their village and not with their son in an ultra modern metropolis apartment.

Flashback to 2013 ... the eight year old boy (our hero) hails from a family so poor they struggled daily to meet even their basic needs. His father is a poor agriculturist, mother a home maker and he has a younger sister who dearly wished to become a doctor when she grew up.

Every morning, the mother takes the previous night's meal and makes a porridge out of it for the kids. The kids have that half-meal and leave to the school about 5 kilometers away. After the school is over, they return home and work in the nearby field for some time.

The odds seemed heavily stacked against them. The only beacon of light in their otherwise gloomy lives was the best-in-class education they received at the school. Math, Science and Computers are his favourite subjects. But he has to study only in the flickering lights of a kerosene lantern in an otherwise completely dark house. Of course, they do not have an electricity connection nor can they afford the power generators in event of a power failure.

That did not however dampen the boy's spirits. His scholarship is up for renewal and his sponsor had written to him congratulating on his recent grades & goading him to do well in higher classes too. That was fire enough to keep him going.

Soon, time flies by and he keeps writing letters to his sponsor every year. They have even met once or twice, with every visit the boy showcasing the talents he has been gaining. He soon completes his school with very high grades and gets admission to one of the most reputed institutes in the state. The person who sponsored his scholarship did not even dream initially that the boy will achieve such heights in life! He is so happy and tears of joy flow from his eyes on seeing the boy.

What happened to his sister!? of course, she too has been inspired like her brother and studied like him in the same school. It would be couple of more years for her to realize her dream of joining a medical college though.

Did you guess who the hero is?

ggrrrr ... I can hear the readers screaming "Stop! You do not have enough information about the guy? And did you just dare say 'best-in-class' education in a rural school?"

Yeah - I forgot to mention, this was one school and the only one common for 5 or 6 villages in the district. They charged minimal fees (about 10000 to 13000 rupees) per year for the education & bus facility.

"Ooh .. a school bus for door pickup at that cost and still I dare mention 'best-in-class' education!? How could that be?"

Well, the boy studied at one of the Isha Vidhya schools! :)

What you just read is not fiction - this is how a lot of rural kids live in our country. Most can only dream of an education, let alone a good one. However, in the last few years, about 6000 rural kids have come to receive this very light of knowledge in their lives thanks to Isha Vidhya!

They can now dream of a rosy future thanks to the really fantastic education at their school, complete with a huge library, computer lab, math lab, activity based learning systems, etc. You name some of the most advanced education techniques employed by some of the best schools in Chennai, I bet they have already been tried out or are under trial at the Isha Vidhya schools.

So - coming back to our question, "who is the hero?"

For readers still scoffing about the lack of information, it is not the kid. It is the sponsor who supported the kid through his education!

It would have cost the hero of our story, about 1.5 Lakh rupees over 14 years of education of the boy. But in most city schools in India now, parents pay that much for their kids' school fee per year! And is this cost too much for making an inspired Indian out of a rural kid?

I am running now for this cause - to educate rural Tamilnadu. I am participating in Chennai marathon on 1st December 2013, running for Isha Vidhya. I have made a promise that I would reach out to as many people as possible.

You, my reader, is a potential hero yourself! 'What can I do' you may ask. The real question is, do we really care to do something for kids who live like this or not. If you do, there are tons of ways to help. For starters, something so simple as allotting 200 rupees per week (is it costlier than a pizza?) aside for a kid's education. There are 52 weeks in a year and am sure you can do the math :)

No amount is small enough! Even 200 rupees, collected from 50 people, is enough to light the lamp in a child's life forever! Are you inspired to do something now? What are you waiting for?

Visit the link below and sponsor a kid's education online - you can pay as much or as little as you want!

http://www.ishavidhya.org/marathon/index.php?marathon=chennai2013

We have been sponsoring for two kids since the last few years. The joy and satisfaction we get out of it is untold! My picture from last year's Chennai marathon is here:

http://blog.ishafoundation.org/inside-isha/announcements/run-for-isha-vidhya-educate-rural-india

Hoping to see you all soon with my next blog on how the marathon was :)

Leadership 101 as a parent

2013-11-18T00:25:00.000+05:30

There was intense pain but I could not show it on my face. My daughter was keenly watching me and I suddenly felt I cannot show the fear of pain to her anymore since she might also become afraid later. Nevertheless when a dentist puts in two injections inside your mouth and pries open your jaws for 20 minutes, it does pain - at least till the numbness sets in.

So, it is in this context of a dental visit that some of my thoughts here on how my kid is learning from what am doing stepped from.

There has always been this quote from Sadhguru on my mind - "When a child has come into your life, it is time to learn and not teach". I thought I understood it well but am not sure anymore now! There seem to be a myriad dimensions to this one statement.

One aspect of it was the literal meaning that I took. I started observing how she learns from life and it has never ceased to amaze me from then till now as to how the children 'sponge-absorb' things & events from around them. Yes, we do teach her a thing or two as she feels necessary. In fact, Abi has been doing most of Isha's coaching with me watching from the sidelines. I have been more of a passive teacher so far for her. But the compulsion to push her academically is not there in us to the extent I see in so many other parents.

Today, Abi was talking about a long discussion she had with Swami Suyagna from Isha Foundation. I was asleep at that time and when I woke up, she narrated a gist of it to me. Unconsciously at first and then in awareness tears started flowing down my eyes because I felt touched by the deep management science that Swami was bestowing on her. Bearing a slight jealousy for the honour showered on her (of course she fully deserved it!), I kept listening.

Soon, a thought came in that what Swami spoke about leadership, mentoring, coaching, managing, etc. applies not just to corporates but also to me as a parent! After all, if making another Abirami or Rajasekhar is tough enough at office, imagine how tough it is to bring up your child to your potential at least. And Sadhguru says your child should dare to do things which you have not even dreamed of!

It was then that I suddenly realized Isha naturally prefers to do what we do at home very intensely, like me cleaning the house or Abi's dedication to Bhairavi or drawing for that matter. I certainly have to do better than what am doing in grooming her from now on.

An experiential realization dawned on me that leaders exist at all levels. Every one is a leader in their own right and they have a dedicated group of followers, whether they know it or not. What kind of society we will create in future clearly depends on how leaders of today, which is basically everyone, exist & influence by example.

I definitely feel the need to dig deeper in me to find the necessary integrity & courage to lead my life better and keep that striving for constant improvement burning.

A novel worth our time ...

2013-11-02T15:39:00.001+05:30

I honestly did not think I would break my blog silence finally, for writing about a book, rather a sequel. Yes, I had been intrigued initially by it but when I laid my hands on the sequel, I just could not put them down and read them through over 3 nights and some parts of the days as well.

I am talking about the Shiva Trilogy by Amish Tripathi. I am writing this right after closing the final book, The oath of the Vayuputras. Till about mid-way through the last book of this series, I was actually happy that I have finally stumbled upon a brilliant classic from an Indian author. Am I retaining that feeling after the completion, am not so sure. One thing is sure though, it was a heart wrenching tale of how Sati sacrificed herself and the events which happened post that. May be I am being so sentimental and melodramatic here, but having been immersed in it straight through, the pain of Sati's death still lies heavy in my heart.

Puritans of Indian History and Mythology may balk. But as far as I am concerned, the good things about this series are:

1) It introduces a lot of characters from Indian mythology, even if in different contexts than what you would know of them traditionally
2) It puts up the perspective of how the caste system originated (and everyone now knows how it degenerated)
3) Indian Rishis, now worshipped as Gods, have been clearly treated more as scientists who had a spectacular understanding of this universe, but human at the same time
4) The length and breadth of Indian Geography is discussed in such wonderful detail
5) The way the author portrays scientific advances made by ancient Indians is truly commendable. Today, a substantial portion of that has been proven true although the timelines
6) Even the description of weaponry used in ancient times in such detail has been brilliant

The Legend of Shiva, starting from the moment he is shown as a man fighting for his tribe, till his death, showing him at various inflection points in his life rising above rest of humanity around him, is simply superb. It shows what every human is capable of, if only we have the conviction to find out the truth for ourselves.

Overall, it is a brilliant conception, a smart introduction to ancient Indian sciences, a humane story of struggle for power vs truth and has been told that way. It tends to drag a bit through the dialogues, the philosophy and the war sections, but those have been critical sections as I see to introduce the readers to ancient Indian way of living.

A word of caution to the readers though - you have to read it as if you are reading a novel, which is what I presume the author tried to present. Do not read it from historical accuracy perspective and find faults with it.

Guru Ashtakam

2013-09-24T14:02:00.000+05:30

Listening to the ashtakam sung by Isha Samskriti kids is a divine experience in itself! Beautiful lyrics and even better is the rendition :)

SHAREERAM SUROOPAM THATHA VAA KALATRAM,
YASASCHARU CHITRAM DHANAM MERU TULYAM,
GURO RANGHRI PADME MANASCHE NA LAGNAM,
TATAH KIM, TATAH KIM, TATAH KIM, TATAH KIM……….1

KALATRAM DHANAM PUTRA POUTRAADI SARVAM,
GRUHAM BHAANDAVAA SARVA METTADHI JAATAM,
GURO RANGHRI PADME MANASCHE NA LAGNAM,
TATAH KIM, TATAH KIM, TATAH KIM, TATAH KIM……….2

SHADANGAADHI VEDO MUKHE SHASTRA VIDHYAA,
KAVITVA AADHI GADHYAM, SUPADHYAM KAROTI,
GURO RANGHRI PADME MANASCHE NA LAGNAM,
TATAH KIM, TATAH KIM, TATAH KIM, TATAH KIM……….3

VIDHESESHU MAANYAHA, SWADHESESHU DHANYAHA,
SADHAACHAARA VRUTTESHU MATTO NA CHA ANYAHA,
GURO RANGHRI PADME MANASCHE NA LAGNAM,
TATAH KIM, TATAH KIM, TATAH KIM, TATAH KIM……….4

KSHAMAA MANDALE BHUPA BHUPAALA BRINDIHI,
SADA SEVITAM YASYA PAADAARAVINDAM,
GURO RANGHRI PADME MANASCHE NA LAGNAM,
TATAH KIM, TATAH KIM, TATAH KIM, TATAH KIM……….5

YASHO ME GATTAM DHIKSHU DHAANA PRATAAPAATH
JAGADVASTU SARVAM KARE YATPRASAADAATH
GURO RANGHRI PADME MANASCHE NA LAGNAM,
TATAH KIM, TATAH KIM, TATAH KIM, TATAH KIM……….6

NA BHOGE, NA YOGHE, NA VAA VAAJIRAAJAA,
NA KAANTAA MUKHE NAIVA VITTESHU CHITTAM,
GURO RANGHRI PADME MANASCHE NA LAGNAM,
TATAH KIM, TATAH KIM, TATAH KIM, TATAH KIM……….7

ANARGYAANI RATNAANI BHUKTAANI SAMYAK
SAMA LINGITA KAMINI YAAMINEESHU
GURO RANGHRI PADME MANASCHE NA LAGNAM,
TATAH KIM, TATAH KIM, TATAH KIM, TATAH KIM……….8

Adi Sankara's Shivashtakam

2013-07-25T18:01:00.000+05:30

One of the most complex but beautiful lyrics I have seen .. this is Shivashtakam sung by Sounds of Isha on Guru Pournami, 2013. It is so fantastically sung .. I was instantly smitten! :)

Download it from here: https://www.ishashoppe.com/downloads/portfolio/shivashtakam/

Thasmai nama parama kaarana kaaranaaya,
Deepthojwala jwalitha pingala lochanaaya,
Nagendra haara krutha kundala bhooshanaaya,
Brahmendra Vishnu varadaaya Nama Shivaya. 1

Srimath prasanna sasi pannaga bhooshanaaya,
Shailendrajaa vadana chumbitha lochanaaya,
Kailasa mandaara mahendra nikethanaaya,
Loka trayarthi haranaaya nama shivaya. 2

Padmava daatha mani kundala govrushaaya,
Krishna guru prachura chandana charchithaaya,
Bhasmaanu shaktha vikatothpala mallikaaya,
Neelaabhja kantha sadrusaaya namashivaya. 3

Lambastha pingala jata mukutoth kataaya,
Damshtra karaala vikatothkata bhairavaaya,
Vyaghra jinambaradharaaya manoharaaya,
Trilokya natha namithaya nama shivaya. 4

Daksha prajapaathi maha makha naasanaaya,
Kshipram mahaa Tripura daanava gathanaaya,
Brahmorjithor dhwaga karoti nikrunthanaaya,
Yogaya yoga namithaya nama shivaya. 5

Samsaara srushti ghatanaa parivarthanaaya,
Raksha pisacha gana siddha samaakulaaya,
Sidhoraga graha ganendra nishevithaaya,
Shardhoola charma vasanaaya Nama Shivaya. 6

Bhasmanga raaga krutha roopa manoharaaya,
Soumyaa vadaatha vanamaasritha maasrithaaya,
Gowri kataaksha nayanaardha nireekshnaaya,
Go ksheera dhaara dhavalaaya nama shivaya. 7

Adithya Soma Varunaanila sevithaaya,
Yagnaagni hothra vara dhooma nikethanaaya,
Rig saama veda munibhi sthuthi samyuthaaya,
Gopaaya gopa namithaaya nama shivaya. 8

Adithya Soma Varunaanila sevithaaya,
Yagnaagni hothra vara dhooma nikethanaaya,
Rig saama veda munibhi sthuthi samyuthaaya,
Gopaaya gopa namithaaya nama shivaya. 9