World in the Times of Sridhar

You Never Know, How & When ~ Sri Sri

2012-02-07T21:22:00.000-05:00

You Never Know How and When The Existence will Start Using You for its Purpose.
You Never Know How and When You will be filled with Abundance..
And You will start Raining, Quenching the thirst of Many..
You Never Know How and When You will be Full of Fruits and Shade..
And Travellers will take Shelter and Food from You..
You Never Know How and When You will be Full with Love and Light..
And You will Start Spreading The Fragrance of Beauty to Everyone..
You Never Know How and When The Death will come And Make You Deathless.. And Life will start flowing out of You..
You Never Know, How & When
-
A Poem by H H Sri Sri Ravishankar

2012-02-03T12:26:00.002-05:00

You Are IN ME

2012-01-07T21:53:00.002-05:00

Without you....

2012-01-07T21:50:00.002-05:00

By RajaShree Patel

2011-11-22T15:09:00.000-05:00

Acceptance is not practice. It is a state of mind - #Rajshree.

No planning, strategising, organizing, rationalizing. Just saying yes to the immediacy of the moment. --#Rajshree

The moment you take your mind and agree to go towards the greater good, the universe arranges itself behind you. --#Rajshree

Salaam Anna Hazare ( By Sangeetha Prithudev)

2011-08-17T17:14:00.000-04:00

Hum hein saath thumhare

Dikhna hei hame sach ke savere

Achanchal hei mann hamara

Drudh hei viswas hamara

Ladenge saath mein vatan ke vaste

Hum hei saath thumhare

Salaam Hazare Salaam Hazare

We are with you

We need to see a morning of truth

We are determined

Our belief is firm

Will fight together for the homeland

We are with you

Salute Hazare

I borrowed this poem

2011-07-19T12:18:00.001-04:00

Oh Guruji!
The mountains reflect Your grandeur and glory,
The sea, Your energy and activity,
The snow, Your pristine purity,
The rails and roads, Your connectivity,
The trees, Your ever green generosity,
The sun and moon, Your delicious warmth and beauty,
The rain, Your predictable unpredictability,
The wind, Your playful levity,
The sky, Your all encompassing Grace and Infinity…

A prayer

2011-07-19T12:17:00.002-04:00

Give me not thirst if you cannot give me water.

Give me not hunger if you cannot give me food.

Give me not joy if I cannot share.

Give me not the skills if I cannot put them to good use.

Give me not intelligence if I cannot perceive beyond it.

Give me not knowledge if I cannot digest it.

Give me not love if I cannot serve.

Give me not desire that doesn't lead me to you.

Give me not a path that doesn't take me home.

Give me not a prayer if you don't want to hear it. (Laughter)

Question : When you pray, to whom do you pray?

Sri Sri : To myself! In prayer the mind goes to its source, the Self. God, Guru, and the Self are the same.

Dean says : Give me not time if I don't know how to manage it.

Daniel says : Gurudev says, "You're all out of time..." (Laughter)

"A Return to Love"

2011-05-27T14:46:00.002-04:00

Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate,
but that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some; it is in everyone.

And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.

Marianne Williamson, from "A Return to Love"

Come to me

2011-05-27T14:45:00.000-04:00

atixid

2011-02-07T16:17:00.000-05:00

you are like ocean where there million things happening
you are just having too much fun
your laugh is like a wave lashing a shore
you are still and as well as extremely active
you have different colours
you support millions ,
your love is endless

Song from Bob Dylan - I like

2010-09-20T17:39:00.000-04:00

How many roads must a man walk down
Before they call him a man.
How many seas must a white dove sail.
Before she sleeps in the sand.
How many times must the cannonballs fly

Before they are forever banned

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind

The answer is blowing in the wind

How many years must a mountain exist

Before it is washed to the sea

How many years can some people exist

Before they're allowed to be free

How many times can a man turn his head

And pretend that he just doesn't see

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind

The answer is blowing in the wind

How many times must a man look up

Before he can see the sky

How many years must one man have

Before he can hear people cry

How many deaths will it take till he knows

That too many people have died

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind

The answer is blowing in the wind

.... Bob Dylan

Collection - I

2009-10-02T09:16:00.004-04:00

Time is a GIFT

om, saha nAvavatu [nau avatu],
saha nau bhunaktu,
saha vIryaM karvAvahai,
tejasvI nAvadhItamastu ...

“And though you were the foulest of sinners, this knowledge alone would carry you like a raft, over all your sin. The blazing fire turns wood to ashes: the fire of knowledge turns all karmas to ashes.” (Bhagavad Gita 4:36, 37)

“Everything in future will
improve if you are making
a spiritual effort now.”

—Sri Yukteswar

“ Though a man be soiled with the sins of a lifetime, let him but love me, rightly resolved, in utter devotion: I see no sinner, that man is holy. Holiness soon shall refashion his nature to peace eternal; O son of Kunti, of this be certain: the man that loves me, he shall not perish. (Bhagavad Gita 9:30, 31)

“The good is one thing; the pleasant is another. These two, differing in their ends, both prompt to action. Blessed are they that choose the good; they that choose the pleasant miss the goal.”
–Katha Upanishad 1:2:1

http://blog.atmajyoti.org/2008/04/choosing-between-the-good-and-the-pleasant/

"Hari Shree Gana Pathaye Namaha Aavighnamasthu"
!! Sarvey Bhavantu Sukhinah, Sarvey Santu Niramayaah,
Sarvey Bhadrani Pashyantu, Maa kaschit Dukkhabhag Bhavet !!
tvameva maataa cha pitaa tvameva |tvameva bandhushcha sakhaa tvameva |tvameva vidyaa draviNaM tvameva |tvameva sarvaM mama devadeva ||
sama (control of mind),
dama (control of the senses), uparati (turning away), titiksa (endurance)
and sraddha (faith)

Be happy for good people
Be friendly with happy people
BE compassionate with suffering people
Ignore the sinful people

There are ten attributes of dharma. They are: patience or courage,
forgiveness, self-restraint, non-stealing, purity, control of the
senses, thoughtfulness, knowledge, truthfulness and angerlessness.

read to improve thinking
read to learn from the best
read classic books
read diversely
read to find other perspectives

The Toyoda Precepts

1. Be contributive to the development and welfare of the country by working together, regardless of position, in faithfully fulfilling your duties.

2. Be ahead of the times through endless creativity, inquisitiveness and pursuit of improvement.

3. Be practical and avoid frivolity.

4. Be kind and generous; strive to create a warm, homelike atmosphere.

5. Be reverent, and show gratitude for things great and small in thought and deed.

Gita talks- Krishna 620, Arjuna 57,
Sanjaya- 67, Drutharashtra- 1- total 745

Guruji, you said earlier that the ego is useful for action. Is it possible to act without ego?
Sri Sri: Yes. An enlightened person will act without any ego.

See, praising a wise person is useless. They will anyway do good work. They will continue doing good work even if you blame them. Praise a fool -- that will pump up their ego and motivate them into doing good work. Have you noticed, the ego troubles ones own mind more than others?

How to love somebody you hate the most?
Sri Sri: First just accept that person. Just accept that they are incorrigible and will never change. Then understand that they are a victim themselves, of their circumstances and their ignorance. Compassion is the next step. See, step by step we have 1, 2, 3. Acceptance, understanding and love.

Q: What is the difference between skill and manipulation?
Sri Sri: Good question. In manipulation, the intentions are not that good. There is viciousness behind the action. In skill the intentions are clear and good. Manipulation leaves you with a guilty feeling. It will pinch you. When you are using your skill your conscience is clear. With manipulation there is dishonesty. You are dishonest to yourself and to the other person. When you are using skill there is honesty. And only you can know the difference! Others can't.

Also in chanting -- we will do chanting later today, we will chant sathyam param dhimahi a few times before meditation. It means let the ultimate truth dawn in my intellect. Beauty, truth and divinity. It is good to chant just before meditation.

Happiness lies in liking what you and not doing what you like.

You have to have smartness, intelligence, dynamism, and creativity along with honesty

Guruji has said this about meditation
A mind without agitation is meditation
A mind in the present moment is meditaion
A mind which has become no mind is meditation
A mind that has no hesitation is meditation
A mind that has no anticipation is meditation
A mind that has come back home to the source is meditaion

There is Guruji’s beautiful book called Space Within

love , compassion, sense of belongingness, sense of gratefulness and vision for everyone

Sathyam Bhruyaath
Priyam Bhruyaath
Mathbhruyaath sathyam apriyam
Priyam cha na anrutham bhruyaath

(Speak the truth, speak the soothing word,

Even if true, do not speak the harsh word,

Even if soothing, do not speak the untruth. )

I hope that our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us that the less we use our power the greater it will be.

2009-06-04T13:48:00.000-04:00

Text of Obama's speech in Cairo

I am honoured to be in the timeless city of Cairo, and to be hosted by two remarkable institutions. For over a thousand years, Al-Azhar has stood as a beacon of Islamic learning, and for over a century, Cairo University has been a source of Egypt's advancement. Together, you represent the harmony between tradition and progress. I am grateful for your hospitality, and the hospitality of the people of Egypt. I am also proud to carry with me the goodwill of the American people, and a greeting of peace from Muslim communities in my country: assalaamu alaykum.

We meet at a time of tension between the United States and Muslims around the world - tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate. The relationship between Islam and the West includes centuries of coexistence and cooperation, but also conflict and religious wars. More recently, tension has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslim-majority countries were too often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations. Moreover, the sweeping change brought by modernity and globalization led many Muslims to view the West as hostile to the traditions of Islam.

Violent extremists have exploited these tensions in a small but potent minority of Muslims. The attacks of September 11th, 2001 and the continued efforts of these extremists to engage in violence against civilians has led some in my country to view Islam as inevitably hostile not only to America and Western countries, but also to human rights. This has bred more fear and mistrust.

So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, and who promote conflict rather than the cooperation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity. This cycle of suspicion and discord must end.

I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect; and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles - principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.

I do so recognizing that change cannot happen overnight. No single speech can eradicate years of mistrust, nor can I answer in the time that I have all the complex questions that brought us to this point. But I am convinced that in order to move forward, we must say openly the things we hold in our hearts, and that too often are said only behind closed doors. There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other; to learn from each other; to respect one another; and to seek common ground. As the Holy Quran tells us, Be conscious of God and speak always the truth. That is what I will try to do - to speak the truth as best I can, humbled by the task before us, and firm in my belief that the interests we share as human beings are far more powerful than the forces that drive us apart.

'Islam, part of America'

Part of this conviction is rooted in my own experience. I am a Christian, but my father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims. As a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and heard the call of the azaan at the break of dawn and the fall of dusk. As a young man, I worked in Chicago communities where many found dignity and peace in their Muslim faith.

As a student of history, I also know civilization's debt to Islam. It was Islam - at places like Al-Azhar University - that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe's Renaissance and Enlightenment. It was innovation in Muslim communities that developed the order of algebra; our magnetic compass and tools of navigation; our mastery of pens and printing; our understanding of how disease spreads and how it can be healed. Islamic culture has given us majestic arches and soaring spires; timeless poetry and cherished music; elegant calligraphy and places of peaceful contemplation. And throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality.

I know, too, that Islam has always been a part of America's story. The first nation to recognize my country was Morocco. In signing the Treaty of Tripoli in 1796, our second President John Adams wrote, The United States has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Muslims. And since our founding, American Muslims have enriched the United States. They have fought in our wars, served in government, stood for civil rights, started businesses, taught at our Universities, excelled in our sports arenas, won Nobel Prizes, built our tallest building, and lit the Olympic Torch. And when the first Muslim-American was recently elected to Congress, he took the oath to defend our Constitution using the same Holy Quran that one of our Founding Fathers - Thomas Jefferson - kept in his personal library.

So I have known Islam on three continents before coming to the region where it was first revealed. That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn't. And I consider it part of my responsibility as President of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear.

But that same principle must apply to Muslim perceptions of America. Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire. The United States has been one of the greatest sources of progress that the world has ever known. We were born out of revolution against an empire. We were founded upon the ideal that all are created equal, and we have shed blood and struggled for centuries to give meaning to those words - within our borders, and around the world. We are shaped by every culture, drawn from every end of the Earth, and dedicated to a simple concept: E pluribus unum: Out of many, one.

Much has been made of the fact that an African-American with the name Barack Hussein Obama could be elected President. But my personal story is not so unique. The dream of opportunity for all people has not come true for everyone in America, but its promise exists for all who come to our shores - that includes nearly seven million American Muslims in our country today who enjoy incomes and education that are higher than average.

Moreover, freedom in America is indivisible from the freedom to practice one's religion. That is why there is a mosque in every state of our union, and over 1,200 mosques within our borders. That is why the U.S. government has gone to court to protect the right of women and girls to wear the hijab, and to punish those who would deny it.

So let there be no doubt: Islam is a part of America. And I believe that America holds within her the truth that regardless of race, religion, or station in life, all of us share common aspirations - to live in peace and security; to get an education and to work with dignity; to love our families, our communities, and our God. These things we share. This is the hope of all humanity.

Of course, recognizing our common humanity is only the beginning of our task. Words alone cannot meet the needs of our people. These needs will be met only if we act boldly in the years ahead; and if we understand that the challenges we face are shared, and our failure to meet them will hurt us all.

For we have learned from recent experience that when a financial system weakens in one country, prosperity is hurt everywhere. When a new flu infects one human being, all are at risk. When one nation pursues a nuclear weapon, the risk of nuclear attack rises for all nations. When violent extremists operate in one stretch of mountains, people are endangered across an ocean. And when innocents in Bosnia and Darfur are slaughtered, that is a stain on our collective conscience. That is what it means to share this world in the 21st century. That is the responsibility we have to one another as human beings.

This is a difficult responsibility to embrace. For human history has often been a record of nations and tribes subjugating one another to serve their own interests. Yet in this new age, such attitudes are self-defeating. Given our interdependence, any world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will inevitably fail. So whatever we think of the past, we must not be prisoners of it. Our problems must be dealt with through partnership; progress must be shared.

That does not mean we should ignore sources of tension. Indeed, it suggests the opposite: we must face these tensions squarely. And so in that spirit, let me speak as clearly and plainly as I can about some specific issues that I believe we must finally confront together.

On extremism

The first issue that we have to confront is violent extremism in all of its forms.

In Ankara, I made clear that America is not - and never will be - at war with Islam. We will, however, relentlessly confront violent extremists who pose a grave threat to our security. Because we reject the same thing that people of all faiths reject: the killing of innocent men, women, and children. And it is my first duty as President to protect the American people.

The situation in Afghanistan demonstrates America's goals, and our need to work together. Over seven years ago, the United States pursued al Qaida and the Taliban with broad international support. We did not go by choice, we went because of necessity. I am aware that some question or justify the events of 9/11. But let us be clear: al Qaida killed nearly 3,000 people on that day. The victims were innocent men, women and children from America and many other nations who had done nothing to harm anybody. And yet Al Qaeda chose to ruthlessly murder these people, claimed credit for the attack, and even now states their determination to kill on a massive scale. They have affiliates in many countries and are trying to expand their reach. These are not opinions to be debated; these are facts to be dealt with.

Make no mistake: we do not want to keep our troops in Afghanistan. We seek no military bases there. It is agonizing for America to lose our young men and women. It is costly and politically difficult to continue this conflict. We would gladly bring every single one of our troops home if we could be confident that there were not violent extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan determined to kill as many Americans as they possibly can. But that is not yet the case.

That's why we're partnering with a coalition of forty-six countries. And despite the costs involved, America's commitment will not weaken. Indeed, none of us should tolerate these extremists. They have killed in many countries. They have killed people of different faiths - more than any other, they have killed Muslims. Their actions are irreconcilable with the rights of human beings, the progress of nations, and with Islam. The Holy Quran teaches that whoever kills an innocent, it is as if he has killed all mankind; and whoever saves a person, it is as if he has saved all mankind. The enduring faith of over a billion people is so much bigger than the narrow hatred of a few. Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism - it is an important part of promoting peace.

We also know that military power alone is not going to solve the problems in Afghanistan and Pakistan. That is why we plan to invest $1.5 billion each year over the next five years to partner with Pakistanis to build schools and hospitals, roads and businesses, and hundreds of millions to help those who have been displaced. And that is why we are providing more than $2.8 billion to help Afghans develop their economy and deliver services that people depend upon.

Let me also address the issue of Iraq. Unlike Afghanistan, Iraq was a war of choice that provoked strong differences in my country and around the world. Although I believe that the Iraqi people are ultimately better off without the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, I also believe that events in Iraq have reminded America of the need to use diplomacy and build international consensus to resolve our problems whenever possible. Indeed, we can recall the words of Thomas Jefferson, who said: I hope that our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us that the less we use our power the greater it will be.

Today, America has a dual responsibility: to help Iraq forge a better future - and to leave Iraq to Iraqis. I have made it clear to the Iraqi people that we pursue no bases, and no claim on their territory or resources. Iraq's sovereignty is its own. That is why I ordered the removal of our combat brigades by next August. That is why we will honor our agreement with Iraq's democratically-elected government to remove combat troops from Iraqi cities by July, and to remove all our troops from Iraq by 2012. We will help Iraq train its Security Forces and develop its economy. But we will support a secure and united Iraq as a partner, and never as a patron.

And finally, just as America can never tolerate violence by extremists, we must never alter our principles. 9/11 was an enormous trauma to our country. The fear and anger that it provoked was understandable, but in some cases, it led us to act contrary to our ideals. We are taking concrete actions to change course. I have unequivocally prohibited the use of torture by the United States, and I have ordered the prison at Guantanamo Bay closed by early next year.

So America will defend itself respectful of the sovereignty of nations and the rule of law. And we will do so in partnership with Muslim communities which are also threatened. The sooner the extremists are isolated and unwelcome in Muslim communities, the sooner we will all be safer.

On Israel and Palestine

The second major source of tension that we need to discuss is the situation between Israelis, Palestinians and the Arab world.

America's strong bonds with Israel are well known. This bond is unbreakable. It is based upon cultural and historical ties, and the recognition that the aspiration for a Jewish homeland is rooted in a tragic history that cannot be denied.

Around the world, the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries, and anti-Semitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust. Tomorrow, I will visit Buchenwald, which was part of a network of camps where Jews were enslaved, tortured, shot and gassed to death by the Third Reich. Six million Jews were killed - more than the entire Jewish population of Israel today. Denying that fact is baseless, ignorant, and hateful. Threatening Israel with destruction - or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews - is deeply wrong, and only serves to evoke in the minds of Israelis this most painful of memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve.

On the other hand, it is also undeniable that the Palestinian people - Muslims and Christians - have suffered in pursuit of a homeland. For more than sixty years they have endured the pain of dislocation. Many wait in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring lands for a life of peace and security that they have never been able to lead. They endure the daily humiliations - large and small - that come with occupation. So let there be no doubt: the situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable. America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own.

(APPLAUSE)

For decades, there has been a stalemate: two peoples with legitimate aspirations, each with a painful history that makes compromise elusive. It is easy to point fingers - for Palestinians to point to the displacement brought by Israel's founding, and for Israelis to point to the constant hostility and attacks throughout its history from within its borders as well as beyond. But if we see this conflict only from one side or the other, then we will be blind to the truth: the only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security.

(APPLAUSE)

That is in Israel's interest, Palestine's interest, America's interest, and the world's interest. That is why I intend to personally pursue this outcome with all the patience that the task requires. The obligations that the parties have agreed to under the Road Map are clear. For peace to come, it is time for them - and all of us - to live up to our responsibilities.

Palestinians must abandon violence. Resistance through violence and killing is wrong and does not succeed. For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights. It was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the center of America's founding. This same story can be told by people from South Africa to South Asia; from Eastern Europe to Indonesia. It's a story with a simple truth: that violence is a dead end. It is a sign of neither courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children, or to blow up old women on a bus. That is not how moral authority is claimed; that is how it is surrendered.

Now is the time for Palestinians to focus on what they can build. The Palestinian Authority must develop its capacity to govern, with institutions that serve the needs of its people. Hamas does have support among some Palestinians, but they also have responsibilities. To play a role in fulfilling Palestinian aspirations, and to unify the Palestinian people, Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, and recognize Israel's right to exist.

At the same time, Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine's. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop.

(APPLAUSE)

Israel must also live up to its obligations to ensure that Palestinians can live, and work, and develop their society. And just as it devastates Palestinian families, the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza does not serve Israel's security; neither does the continuing lack of opportunity in the West Bank. Progress in the daily lives of the Palestinian people must be part of a road to peace, and Israel must take concrete steps to enable such progress.

Finally, the Arab States must recognize that the Arab Peace Initiative was an important beginning, but not the end of their responsibilities. The Arab-Israeli conflict should no longer be used to distract the people of Arab nations from other problems. Instead, it must be a cause for action to help the Palestinian people develop the institutions that will sustain their state; to recognize Israel's legitimacy; and to choose progress over a self-defeating focus on the past.

America will align our policies with those who pursue peace, and say in public what we say in private to Israelis and Palestinians and Arabs. We cannot impose peace. But privately, many Muslims recognize that Israel will not go away. Likewise, many Israelis recognize the need for a Palestinian state. It is time for us to act on what everyone knows to be true.

Too many tears have flowed. Too much blood has been shed. All of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Israelis and Palestinians can see their children grow up without fear; when the Holy Land of three great faiths is the place of peace that God intended it to be; when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims, and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together.

(APPLAUSE)

... as in the story of Isra.

(APPLAUSE)

... as in the story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed -- peace be upon them -- joined in prayer.

(APPLAUSE)

The third source of tension is our shared interest in the rights and responsibilities of nations on nuclear weapons.

(APPLAUSE)

This issue has been a source of tension between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran. For many years, Iran has defined itself in part by its opposition to my country, and there is indeed a tumultuous history between us. In the middle of the Cold War, the United States played a role in the overthrow of a democratically-elected Iranian government. Since the Islamic Revolution, Iran has played a role in acts of hostage-taking and violence against U.S. troops and civilians. This history is well known. Rather than remain trapped in the past, I have made it clear to Iran's leaders and people that my country is prepared to move forward. The question, now, is not what Iran is against, but rather what future it wants to build.

It will be hard to overcome decades of mistrust, but we will proceed with courage, rectitude and resolve. There will be many issues to discuss between our two countries, and we are willing to move forward without preconditions on the basis of mutual respect. But it is clear to all concerned that when it comes to nuclear weapons, we have reached a decisive point. This is not simply about America's interests. It is about preventing a nuclear arms race in the Middle East that could lead this region and the world down a hugely dangerous path.

I understand those who protest that some countries have weapons that others do not. No single nation should pick and choose which nations hold nuclear weapons. That is why I strongly reaffirmed America's commitment to seek a world in which no nations hold nuclear weapons. And any nation - including Iran - should have the right to access peaceful nuclear power if it complies with its responsibilities under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. That commitment is at the core of the Treaty, and it must be kept for all who fully abide by it. And I am hopeful that all countries in the region can share in this goal.

On democracy

The fourth issue that I will address is democracy.

(APPLAUSE)

I know there has been controversy about the promotion of democracy in recent years, and much of this controversy is connected to the war in Iraq. So let me be clear: no system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other.

That does not lessen my commitment, however, to governments that reflect the will of the people. Each nation gives life to this principle in its own way, grounded in the traditions of its own people. America does not presume to know what is best for everyone, just as we would not presume to pick the outcome of a peaceful election. But I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn't steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose. Those are not just American ideas, they are human rights, and that is why we will support them everywhere.

There is no straight line to realize this promise. But this much is clear: governments that protect these rights are ultimately more stable, successful and secure. Suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. America respects the right of all peaceful and law-abiding voices to be heard around the world, even if we disagree with them. And we will welcome all elected, peaceful governments - provided they govern with respect for all their people.

This last point is important because there are some who advocate for democracy only when they are out of power; once in power, they are ruthless in suppressing the rights of others. No matter where it takes hold, government of the people and by the people sets a single standard for all who hold power: you must maintain your power through consent, not coercion; you must respect the rights of minorities, and participate with a spirit of tolerance and compromise; you must place the interests of your people and the legitimate workings of the political process above your party. Without these ingredients, elections alone do not make true democracy.

On religious freedom

The fifth issue that we must address together is religious freedom.

Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance. We see it in the history of Andalusia and Cordoba during the Inquisition. I saw it firsthand as a child in Indonesia, where devout Christians worshipped freely in an overwhelmingly Muslim country. That is the spirit we need today. People in every country should be free to choose and live their faith based upon the persuasion of the mind, heart, and soul. This tolerance is essential for religion to thrive, but it is being challenged in many different ways.

Among some Muslims, there is a disturbing tendency to measure one's own faith by the rejection of another's. The richness of religious diversity must be upheld - whether it is for Maronites in Lebanon or the Copts in Egypt.

(APPLAUSE)

And fault lines must be closed among Muslims as well, as the divisions between Sunni and Shia have led to tragic violence, particularly in Iraq.

Freedom of religion is central to the ability of peoples to live together. We must always examine the ways in which we protect it. For instance, in the United States, rules on charitable giving have made it harder for Muslims to fulfill their religious obligation. That is why I am committed to working with American Muslims to ensure that they can fulfill zakat.

Likewise, it is important for Western countries to avoid impeding Muslim citizens from practicing religion as they see fit - for instance, by dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear. We cannot disguise hostility towards any religion behind the pretence of liberalism.

Indeed, faith should bring us together. That is why we are forging service projects in America that bring together Christians, Muslims, and Jews. That is why we welcome efforts like Saudi Arabian King Abdullah's Interfaith dialogue and Turkey's leadership in the Alliance of Civilizations. Around the world, we can turn dialogue into Interfaith service, so bridges between peoples lead to action - whether it is combating malaria in Africa, or providing relief after a natural disaster.

On women's rights

The sixth issue -- the sixth issue that I want to address is women's rights.

(APPLAUSE)

I know...

(APPLAUSE)

I know, and you can tell from this audience, that there is a healthy debate about this issue. I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal. But I do believe that a woman who is denied an education is denied equality.

(APPLAUSE)

And it is no coincidence that countries where women are well-educated are far more likely to be prosperous.

Now let me be clear, issues of women's equality are by no means simply an issue for Islam. In Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, we've seen Muslim-majority countries elect a woman to lead.

Meanwhile, the struggle for women's equality continues in many aspects of American life and in countries around the world. I am convinced that our daughters can contribute just as much to society as our sons.

(APPLAUSE)

Our common prosperity will be advanced by allowing all humanity, men and women, to reach their full potential. I do not believe that women must make the same choices as men in order to be equal. And I respect those women who choose to live their lives in traditional roles. But it should be their choice.

That is why the United States will partner with any Muslim-majority country to support expanded literacy for girls and to help young women pursue employment through micro-financing that helps people live their dreams.

First step towards new beginning

The issues that I have described will not be easy to address, but we have a responsibility to join together to behalf of the world that we seek, a world where extremists no longer threaten our people and American troops have come home; a world where Israelis and Palestinians are each secure in a state of their own and nuclear energy is used for peaceful purposes, a world where governments serve their citizens and the rights of all God's children are respected. Those are mutual interests. That is the world we seek. But we can only achieve it together. I know there are many, Muslim and non-Muslim, who question whether we can forge this new beginning. Some are eager to stoke the flames of division and to stand in the way of progress. Some suggest that it isn't worth the effort, that we are fated to disagree and civilizations are doomed to clash.

Many more are simply skeptical that real change can occur. There is so much fear, so much mistrust that has built up over the years. But if we choose to be bound by the past, we will never move forward. And I want to particularly say this to young people of every faith in every country. You more than anyone have the ability to reimagine the world, the remake this world.

All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart or whether we commit ourselves to an effort, a sustained effort to find common ground, to focus on the future we seek for our children and to respect the dignity of all human beings.

It's easier to start wars than to end them. It's easier to blame others than to look inward. It's easier to see what is different about someone than to find the things we share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path. There is one rule that lies at the heart of every religion, that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us.

(APPLAUSE)

This truth transcends nations and peoples, a belief that isn't new, that isn't black or white or brown, that isn't Christian or Muslim or Jew. It's a belief that pulsed in the cradle of civilization and that still beats in the hearts of billions around the world. It's a faith in other people. And it's what brought me here today.

We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning, keeping in mind what has been written. The Holy Quran tells us, Mankind, we have created you male and a female. And we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another.

The Talmud tells us, The whole of the Torah is for the purpose of promoting peace.

The Holy Bible tells us, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

(APPLAUSE)

The people of the world can live together in peace. We know that is God's vision. Now that must be our work here on Earth.

Thank you. And may God's peace be upon you. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Source: AP

Twenty Special Secrets

2008-08-13T11:40:00.002-04:00

1. When two people meet, the prize always goes to the one with the most self-insight. He will be calmer, more confident, more at ease with the other.

2. Never permit the behavior of other people to tell you how to feel.

3. Pay little attention to what people say or do. Instead, try to see their innermost motive for speaking and acting. (Now, apply this very same rule to yourself and you become an enlightened person!)

4. Any friendship requiring the submission of your original nature and dignity to another person is all wrong.

5. Mystically speaking, there is no difference between you and another person. This is why we cannot hurt another without hurting ourselves, nor help another without helping ourselves.

6. When we are free of all unnecessary desires toward other people, we can never be deceived or hurt.

7. You take a giant step toward psychological maturity when you refuse to angrily defend yourself against unjust slander. For one thing, resistance disturbs your own peace of mind.

8. You understand others to the exact degree that you really understand yourself. Work for more self-knowledge.

9. Do not be afraid to fully experience everything that happens to you in your human relations, especially the pains and disappointments. Do this, and everything becomes clear at last.

10. The individual who really knows what it means to love has no anxiety when his love is unseen and rejected.

11. If you painfully lose a valuable friend, do not rush out at once for a replacement. Such action prevents you from examining your heartache and breaking free of it.

12. Do not be afraid to be a nobody in the social world. This is a deeper and richer truth than appears on the surface.

13. Every unpleasant experience with another person is an opportunity to see people as they are, not as we mistakenly idealize them. The more unpleasant the other person is, the more he can teach you.

14. You can be so wonderfully free from a sense of injury and injustice that you are surprised when you hear others complain of them.

15. We cannot recognize a virtue in another person that we do not possess in ourselves. It takes a truly loving and patient person to recognize those virtues in another.

16. Do not mistake desire for love. Desire leaves home in a frantic search for one gratification after another. Love is at home with itself.

17. There are parts of you that want the loving life and parts that do not. Place yourself on the side of your positive forces; do all you can to aid and encourage them.

18. You must stop living so timidly, from fixed fears of what others will think of you and of what you will think of yourself.

19. Do not contrive to be a loving person; work to be a real person. Being real is being loving.

20. The greatest love you could ever offer to another is to so transform your inner life that others are attracted to your genuine example of goodness.

2008-08-07T14:30:00.001-04:00

Excellence is not a singular act, but a habit. You are what you repeatedly do

SOME REAL PEARLS...

2008-07-25T10:20:00.001-04:00

You are strong...when you take your grief and teach it to smile.
You are brave...when you overcome your fear and help others to do the same.
You are happy...when you see a flower and are thankful for the blessing.
You are loving...when your own pain does not blind you to the pain of others.
You are wise...when you know the limits of your wisdom.
AND
You are true...when you admit there are times you fool yourself!!

Subsidy by Shankar Acharya

2008-07-24T15:13:00.001-04:00

Shankar Acharya:Subsidies to perdition
A PIECE OF MY MIND
Shankar Acharya / New Delhi July 10, 2008, 0:48 IST

Recent months have seen much concern and calls for action to contain the burgeoning subsidies for food, fertilizer and fuel. For 2008/9 these subsidies are projected at 1, 2 and 3 (at least) percent of GDP, respectively (see my last column in BS, June 26). You could call it the "other" 1-2-3 agreement of the political executive! Actually, our penchant for subsidies is not a recent phenomenon. The habit is nearly six decades old and thrives despite pretty overwhelming evidence on its ruinous economic cost and general ineffectiveness. Just consider the following.

Electric Power:Subsidies for power have been a hardy perennial. Despite all kinds of executive and legislative efforts to minimise them, gross subsidies on electricity sales by state electricity boards rose to over Rs. 43,000 crore in 2007/8 or nearly one percent of GDP. Over two-thirds is accounted for by sales to agriculture and the rest is for domestic use. And what has the long history of power subsidies got us other than financially parlous power utilities, weak state finances and over-priced supply to industry and commerce? Well, the other unfortunate results include: the tortuous history of guarantees and counter-guarantees (remember Enron-Dabhol?); perennial power deficits, including a record peak power deficit of 15 percent in 2007/8; massive disruption to medium and small scale industry and commerce; over-use of groundwater and sinking water tables; and routine "load shedding" all over the country, including in the capital city of this "emerging economic super-power".

Irrigation: The second largest subsidy item in most state budgets is for irrigation water. Except for Gujarat and Maharashtra, water charges in irrigation schemes cover only a fraction of O&M costs, let alone the massive investments undertaken over decades in dams and canals. As a result, maintenance is poor and the irrigation potential of existing schemes is seriously under-utilised. Combined with sinking water tables, much of Indian agriculture is subject to water stress, leading to low productivity and weak growth. And, as we all know, these problems are hitting home this year through higher inflation.

Urban Water Supply: Under-pricing and subsidies are rampant here as well. Unlike in most of the world, Indian cities and towns are unable to supply water from the mains 24x7. Water and sanitation utilities are chronically under-financed, under-repaired and under-invested. The well-to-do invest in tanks and pumps to solve the supply problems and filter/boil to improve quality. Slum-dwellers are lucky if they can access piped sources and still suffer the health hazards of contamination. Many buy water from "informal" water-sellers at high prices. So, most of the subsidy goes to the rich and middle classes.

Fertilizers:Another hardy perennial in India's subsidy jungle, this one is borne by the central budget and is mostly focused on urea. Despite the recommendations of a long and distinguished lineage of "High-Powered Committees", the price-control-cum-subsidy regime has persisted. So has the severe damage to soil quality from over-use of nitrates relative to potassium and phosphates. It has also discouraged new investment, with hardly any new capacity being created in the last 20 years. This leads to serious problems in periods of global scarcity, as at present.

Higher Education:Public universities and related institutions subsist on government subsidies, since absurdly low fees have not been revised in several decades. The predictable results have been inexorable decline in physical infrastructure and the quality of faculty. The problems are compounded by caste-based reservations. The rich have opted out of the system and send their youngsters to foreign universities (charging fees many multiples higher) or a small number of private, "non-profit" institutions. The less well-off have no option. Reform has been blocked by vested interests and misguided political leadership. Overall, the system is in crisis and bodes ill for India in this knowledge-based century.

Petroleum Products: The story of the huge oil subsidies needs no retelling. Aside from the massive damage to public sector oil companies and ballooning fiscal deficits, the price-subsidy structure is encouraging excessive "dieselization" of the economy, rampant adulteration of diesel with even cheaper kerosene (with resultant damage to the environment) and delayed adjustment to the inevitable.

Foodgrains:Arguably, the PDS-related food subsidy has had some successes, especially in its early years, in enhancing consumption and welfare of the urban poor. But, as the PDS administration has worsened over time (in step with the general administration), diversion, pilferage, mis-targeting and other forms of leakage have mounted. In any case, the distribution system only works moderately effectively in perhaps five states, which exclude the poorest and most populous, such as UP and Bihar.

There are many other examples. But the general point is clear enough. Some of India's worst performing sectors are those marked by the witches' brew of public supply, price controls and subsidies. It's impossible to think of a major sector with high subsidies which is performing well. In sharp contrast, just consider some of India's best performing sectors such as IT, telecom, pharmaceuticals, auto components, two-wheelers and entertainment (TV, films, etc.). None of these rely on subsidies. Most of the Indian manufacturing sector depended on "subsidies" of a different kind for several decades up to the early 1990s. High tariffs and import controls protected manufacturing units from cheaper imports and the Indian consumer paid the "subsidy" through inflated prices for domestic manufactures. As trade protection was gradually and systematically reduced throughout the next 15 years, these "subsidies" disappeared. Indian industry didn't collapse. On the contrary, it became much more efficient, resilient and dynamic. Again the lesson is clear: wean sectors off their subsidy crutches and they perform much better.

The different histories of two infrastructure sectors, power and telecom, is also instructive. The prolonged history of a subsidy culture (and virtual state monopoly over distribution) ensured the permanent semi-crisis in India's electric power sector. In contrast, the equally long-standing telecom public monopoly was not associated with a subsidy culture (except for a limited number of netas and babus). So, when the sector was opened up in the mid-1990s to private players and new mobile technologies, there was no burden of a subsidy culture blocking its progress. And we have all benefited from the astonishing growth and technical change ushered in by Indian entrepreneurs and companies in this key infrastructure sector.

The lesson is clear: subsidies (usually linked to public provision) pave the road to perdition. If we want to rescue India's poorly-performing sectors, we have to free up prices, phase out subsidies and allow free entry. It has worked before. It will work again.

The author is Honorary Professor at ICRIER and former Chief Economic Adviser to Government of India.

From Jiddu - Pleasure always brings pain;

2008-07-23T09:54:00.001-04:00

I have to read this multiple times to understand

Pleasure always brings pain; it is a fact There is a vast difference between pleasure and love. Consider it for a minute. All our relationships between man and woman, between ourselves and each other, is based on pleasure. And, pleasure always
brings pain;

it is a fact. And, where there is pleasure, there is no love. Love is not a process of thinking; love is not the result of a thought, whereas pleasure is. If you understand that—not intellectually, verbally reasoned out — if you see the fact that pleasure destroys love, and where there is pleasure there is no joy; if you see very clearly that you function on pleasure, that all your activity, all your thinking, all your

being — including your gods — everything is based on pleasure which is the result of thought; if you see that it is thought which gives continuity to pleasure, which is desire; and, if you see this whole structure, then

where does fear come in at all?

:::::Collected Works, Vol. XVI – 62 – Jiddu Krishnamurti.

subsidy by shankar acharya

2008-07-18T16:22:00.003-04:00

The Purpose of Life is a LIFE OF PURPOSE

2008-07-18T10:54:00.001-04:00

A View About Life

2008-07-18T10:50:00.005-04:00

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to hot coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups and were eyeing each other's cups.

Now if life is coffee, then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, but the quality of Life doesn't change. Some times, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it."

Don't let the cups drive you... Enjoy the coffee instead

Elephant and Fly

2008-07-14T22:27:00.001-04:00

A disciple and his teacher were walking through the forest. The disciple was disturbed by the fact that his mind was in constant unrest.

He asked his teacher: "Why most people's minds are restless, and only a few possess a calm mind? What can one do to still the mind?"

The teacher looked at the disciple, smiled and said:
"I will tell you a story. An elephant was standing and picking leaves from a tree. A small fly came, flying and buzzing near his ear. The elephant waved it away with his long ears. Then the fly came again, and the elephant waved it away once more".

This was repeated several times. Then the elephant asked the fly:
"Why are you so restless and noisy? Why can't you stay for a while in one place?"

The fly answered: "I am attracted to whatever I see, hear or smell. My five senses pull me constantly in all directions and I cannot resist them. What is your secret? How can you stay so calm and still?"

The elephant stopped eating and said:
"My five senses do not rule my attention. Whatever I do, I get immersed in it. Now that I am eating, I am completely immersed in eating. In this way I can enjoy my food and chew it better. I rule and control my attention, and not the other way around."

Upon hearing these words, the disciple's eyes opened wide and a smile appeared on his face. He looked at his teacher and said:
"I understand! If my five senses are in control of my mind and attention, then my mind is in constant unrest. If I am in charge of my five senses and attention, then my mind becomes calm".

"Yes, that's right", answered the teacher, " The mind is restless and goes wherever the attention is. Control your attention, and you control your mind".

An Employer's Consciousness

2008-06-10T10:27:00.002-04:00

A person had an extremely devoted servant. One day, a pen accidentally slipped from the hand of the servant. It fell to the ground and broke. The man got very upset and said, "See what you have done? This pen was presented to me by a dear friend." The servant did not say anything. He went out and started to clean the hallway. He was extremely saddened about what had happened.

A little later, the man called the servant in. He held his servant's hand and said, "You serve me well with all your ability. I could not live without your help. Today, for a small mistake, I became so angry. Please forgive me."

The servant was dumbfounded. What was his 'master' saying! He was surprised and said, "Babu, I made a mistake. You were right in getting angry at me."

The master's eyes were filled with tears. With great difficulty, he said, "I will not let go of you unless you forgive me." Hearing his master's words made the servant's heart heavy, and he started to weep like a child. He wiped the tears from his master's eyes and said, "Babu, please do not be sorry. I forgive you."

The 'master' was the first President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, and the servant was Sita Ram. Needless to say, the relation between them was like a father and son.

The Rules of Being Human

2008-05-14T10:09:00.000-04:00

1. You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it will
be yours for the entire period.

2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in an informal school
called Life. Each day in this school, you will have the opportunity
to learn lessons. You may like the lessons or think them irrelevant
and stupid.

3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial
and error. Experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a
part of the process as the experiment
that ultimately "works".

4. A lesson is repeated until learned. A lesson will be presented to
you in various forms until you have learned it. You can then go on
to the next lesson.

5. Learning lessons does not end. There is no part of life that does
not contain its lessons. If you are alive, there are lessons to be
learned.

6. "There" is no better than "here." When your "there" has become
a "here," you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look
better than "here."

7. Others are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate
something about another person unless it reflects something you
either love or hate about yourself.

8. What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools
and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The
choice is yours.

9. Your answers lie inside you. The answers to Life's questions lie
inside you. All you need to do is look, listen and trust.

10. You will forget all this.

Sai Baba

I feared by UNKNOWN

2008-05-07T10:00:00.001-04:00

I feared being alone Until I learned to like Myself.

I feared failure Until I realized that I only Fail when I don't try.

I feared success Until I realized That I had to try In order to be
happy With myself.

I feared people's opinions Until I learned that People would have
opinions About me anyway.

I feared rejection Until I learned to Have faith in myself.

I feared pain Until I learned that it's necessary For growth.

I feared the truth Until I saw the Ugliness in lies.

I feared life Until I experienced Its beauty .

I feared death Until I realized that it's Not an end, but a beginning.

I feared my destiny, Until I realized that I had the power to change
My life.

I feared hate Until I saw that it Was nothing more than Ignorance.

I feared love Until it touched my heart, Making the darkness fade
Into endless sunny days.

I feared ridicule Until I learned how To laugh at myself.

I feared growing old Until I realized that I gained wisdom every day.

I feared the future Until I realized that Life just kept getting
Better.

I feared the past Until I realized that It could no longer hurt me.

I feared the dark Until I saw the beauty Of the starlight.

I feared the light Until I learned that the Truth would give me
Strength.

I feared change , Until I saw that Even the most beautiful butterfly
Had to undergo a metamorphosis Before it could fly.

You Never Know by Sri Sri

2008-05-02T11:05:00.003-04:00

You Never know
how And When
The Existence Will Start
Using You For Its Purpose

You Never Know
How And When
You Will Be Filled With
Abundance
And You Will Start Raining
Quenching The Thirst of Many

You Never Know
How And When
You Will Be Full Of
Fruits And Shade
And Travelers Will Take
Shelter And Food From You

You Never Know
How And When
You Will Be Full With
Love And Light
And You Will Start Spreading
The Fragrance of Beauty To Everyone

You Never Know
How And When
The Death Will Come
And Make You Deathless
And Life Will Start
Flowing Out Of You

You Never Know
How & When....Really !

~Sri Sri

2008-04-04T14:55:00.001-04:00

Water wars again and again

Part 6: Friendly Conclusion ( final)

2008-03-08T20:48:00.018-05:00

Sometimes it takes a small talk with a friend to trigger an event that gave me the courage to write in a blog. So thanks to my Friend. So here is the previour part 5: Lessons from US.
To those who want read from the beginning, here is Part1

It does not make difference who gets the credit as long India and Indians are benefited, of course it is politicacally imperative for sonia Gandhi to give importance to her family. Though I cannot avoid, I have to mention Media is biased and we give proper credit to people who deserve.

There are lot of problems facing India and we need a good leaders to solve them.
1) India's total debt is at 770 bn ( whole of India is 1000 Billion USD loan) somebody is going to pay this bill
2) Becoz of poor power supply and transportation, most of the business is in middle of a city . making properties very costly, Inflating the land prices and out of reach even middle class families. If you compare this with US, US has very low land inflation till 2003 for most regions outside, SFO, LA, NY and Miami City. becoz of good suburban roads.
For every million rupees spent, roads raised 335 people above the poverty line, and R&D 323. Every million rupees spent on education reduced poverty by 109 people, and on irrigation by 67 people. The lowest returns came from subsidies that are the most popular with politicians - subsidies on credit (42 people), power (27 people) and fertilisers (24 people).

3) Development of transportation can develop suburbans and reduce land prices
4) 60-70% of Indians can only be employed in low skill factory jobs. We need massive industrialisation and large factories
5) we need Capital account convertibility, India will be easily able to export its inflation becoz of its size and depth. http://business-standard.com/common/storypage_c.php?leftnm=10&autono=315201

6) Government needs to stick itself to Security, foriegn policy ,law and order, without interfering much in economics.
7) Whenever Inflation increases, it means somebody is missing their food, shelter, so RBI should stick to manage Interest rates and not worry about acccumlating foriegn currency or managing sovereign wealth
8)Whenever fiscal deficit decreases, it leads long time system stability ( no major skew by govt expenditure)
9) Technology is always welcome
10).

Notes:
- Government is always powerful. never mind what freedom you think you have.
- The total Global (world wealth at current technology) GDP is around 50Bn USD and USA is 12Bn USD. There is 300 Million People in US. that is 40,000 USD per US citizen. India has 1.1 Bn, to reach US standard of living of 40k USD, Indian economy has to grow from Current 1 Trillion to 40.4 trillion for current living population. India was 300 Billion in 1991, it took us 16 yrs to treble to 1trillion. At current growth rate it will take us atleast 45 yrs to reach 40 trillion, and in these 45 yrs, India population will be 2bn atleast. so it will take us 100 yrs to reach current US standard of life. ( note: We do not know where US will be in 100 yrs.)

So, India and Indians needs lot of luck just to survive.

Further reading

1)A tale to gladden the heart of economic liberals
2)Battling the babu raj

Part 5:- As it is in US

2008-03-07T10:34:00.002-05:00

Previous Part 4: PC & BJP

in 1992 US economy was $4trillion and when Bill clinton become president, he tightened govt expenditure and reduced its debts to zero, by the end of 2000 US economy was $10 trillions.
It is like your income growing from $100k to 250k in 8 yrs. Not only yours but all of the people, you know. But once the current govt came in 2000 and started spending and deficit increased economy grow from 10 to 13 tns in 8 yrs. Note US can export its inflation becoz of trade is in dollars. Like it can print more dollars and let foreign countries accumlate them. India can do same thing becoz of its size.

The current news ( feb-2008) is US inflation is 7%, it is related to Iraqi surge of 30k troops, who needs additional clothes, food, shelter, equipments and so ..on from the mainland, Note in 2003 ,when the war started , US was in recession and the economy grew out of that stimulated has war created. but in 2006 economy is strong but the politically correct surge, created high inflation. If not for surge, US might have had a soft landing becoz of housing problem.

Next : Part 6 Friendly Conclusion

Part 4: P Chidambaram and BJP

2008-03-06T13:00:00.001-05:00

Read Part 3 here

in 1997 PC did what is called a dream budget, what he did is simple but profound

1) he reduced government expenditures
2) he reduced Government revenue

by cutting taxes across the board and led a tight government for next 2 yrs

Luckily for India, BJP govt for next 6 yrs did the same thing, no populist measures.Yashwant Sinha under Chandrasekhar govt was the original architect of fiscal discpline. During the same period from 1997-2002, the GDP growth was only 4% , it is becoz Indian government was always mover/spender in economy but here government is cutting itself down. Poverty also fell faster becoz inflation was also very low around 3-6% during these last 12 yrs. it proves that low inflation in western countries like 1-2% is also the reason for their very low steady poverty. (Assuming Population growth is also below 2-3%. During 1950-1962, India experienced similar growth)

In 2003, Poverty rate touched like 25% way down from 50-60% seen in 80's. Jaswant Singh Introduced two important laws one for tough laws for capturing non-performing loans of banks and two to refinance the state governments old debts, low inflation rate led to low interest rates, indeed some of the state government borrowed "hundred" crores in 1970's at 30-40% interest rate and it was still paying for in 2001. Govt in 2001 introduced $5bn USD bond and cut interest payments and freed additional funds of state governments by 60-80%.

This led to more funds for state governments, so govts borrowed even less and that means banks had more money from both loan recovery and less govt borrowing. Banks also did VRS , which improved their productivity. this led to robust growth rate of 8% from 2003, this is driven by people taking loans from banks to finance homes, cellphones, cars ...etc. thereby creating more employment and low inflation.

NEXT As it is in US government

Part3 :101 Basic current economies

2008-03-05T12:46:00.002-05:00

Part2: Why I disagreed with my friends

Before I can go to next 3 articles, I need to mention Basic economies on which India, and USA and most of the world is operating and what they mean. They are 4 important pillars in a free market economy

1st one is of course government, do you know what is your biggest monthly expenditure? It is financing the government thru income tax and all other taxes you buy when you eat, shop, see movies. Government is the richest and is the Emperor of the village. US govt is the Monarch of all these emperors

2nd most important is Inflation. there are lot of concepts of Inflation, but when you hear the word inflation ,it always means two things

- Government is spending more than others ( this is the true meaning of inflation)
- price are not stables, that means people who live on the borders, have to provide more for food or shelter , that means people are going to become poor.
Indeed it can proven mathematical at stable price and stable price increase ( say 1%) , poverty rate falls faster.

Tools to control inflation are a) interest rates, govt squeezes peoples spending b) capitail convertability or floating the currency, you export your inflation like US is doing to gulf countries/Indian Outsourcing firms/China

3rd most important is called fiscal deficit in India or balanced budget in USA/most other countries
- When Government borrows, as it is soveriegn , it gets the most money and it skews the whole systems
and when government spends , it skews the systems , for eg if government decides to buy a mobile phone, it buys them in millions (and not one or two like in a family ) that means a million "similar" lcd display, million "similar" keys, million "similar" sim cards and are all going to be required over night, that is going to create a major shortage and short term price hike or inflation in that particular product lines. compare it to million or even 1000 of people/organizations, it will all be different. Some go for style , some for features, some for price, increasing depth of the market.

4th most effective tool in current economic situation to remove poverty as been technology, indeed technology has played the greatest leveling factor in poverty allevation across centuring. Technology has been often replaced by words like education and militrary power,

But Government is always poor follower of technology, Being a behemoth , it is never nimble to advance/exploit technology. Technology is best exploited by risk takers, individuals, private enterprise. As you can see, In Regimes of less freedom, generally dictators pay the price for poor technology.
like USSR failed to convert their technology and had high poverty
while Saudi arabia,Iran has no new technology and has high poverty , unemployment inspite of record exports
while the reverse is true in korea, singapore, australia
Even china is no front runner in exploiting new technology nowadays.

NEXT :part 4 PC and BJP

Part2 : Why I disagreed with My Friend

2008-03-04T15:12:00.004-05:00

Part 1: Angst With a close friend

Manmohan singh is through professional. being economist in Government , most of his reforms was in government Economics.

During 1991-96 period ,
- opening of India to FDI and FII and more importantly NRI accounts Foreign Currency relaxed( individual can have 7 yrs foreign currency account w/o tax)
and current account convertibility ( an individual who stayed abroad for 6 mnths can convert his foriegn currency to any other foriegn currency or use it to buy any foreign property)
- Export & Import control relaxed and customs duty relaxed
- complete removal of license raj, industrial laws
- Monopolies Restrications (MRTPC) was changed to allow to companies to consolidate ( in the case of HLL, India become of the export hub employing many many more people in multiple shifts)
- Major slashes in Income tax, corporate tax, excise and customs duties.

Major achievements was
- GDP growth picked up 6%
- Foreign currecny reserve crossed $30Bns
- exports/imports increased
- IT sector started growing
- Disinvestment in public sector to make up for loss in above taxes

Major failures
- High inflation around 15%
- poverty rate was still around 50%
- no reforms in non-economic arena like industries,land laws, agricultural,transportation, labor laws, judicial laws, election reforms

As a footnote, ManMohan singh after his term as a Governor of RBI, took charge of finance adviser for BARC and DRDO before he become the finance minister, it is that experience that helped garb the INDO-US nuclear deal. and he knows that he is doing a historic accord.

Part3:-Next 101 Basic current economies

Part1: Angst with a close friend

2008-03-03T21:25:00.003-05:00

Recently on a dinner outage with a close friend, he mentioned that it is Rajiv Gandhi government which introduced economic refroms in India (I thought he really sounded like Sonia Gandhi ). it was a such a shock for me as he is from India and he lived in India as a teenager under Rajiv's rule and he has in college during Manmohan-Narasimha Rao stewardship. Unfortunately he is not only guy who said such things about India govts before 1991 , I heard things like that when Indira Gandhi nationalised banks, it helped poor people. ( joke is less than 35% of todays Indians have banks accounts and even in those nationalised banks, private sector IT employees had difficulties openings bank accounts 10 yrs back. Indira Gandhi nationalised banks and Insurance becoz it allowed govt borrow money at their low interest rates). My friends and others comment made think that I atleast attempt to correct this wrong so I decided to write about 6 part article on economics

Before 1991 reforms , following is the economic conditions in India
- Foreign Currency control ( all persons have to surrender foreign currency on landing in India) and that also means no FDI and FII investments
- there is passport and visa restrications/advanced permissions requirements for foreign travel
- Export control ( nothing can be exported without Govt permission)
- Import control ( nothing can be Imported without Govt permission)
- Production control ( govt thru excise duty controls how much product is produced like there is always a shortage of RIN, surf or kwality/Arun ice creams before 1990, like for eg. no more than 100 bars of RIN can be produced per day per factory)
- Monopolies Restrications (MRTPC) for example HLL owned RIN,SURF, lakme, fair and lovely they are different companies, leading to low hourly wages, poor distribution of managerial skills and so on
- Most of the jobs were in Govt and public sector
- tought labor laws mean very few recruitments and also layoffs
- License raj, govt permission required to start any business
- Small scale industries reservations, many products were reserved for small scale industries.
- Banks hardly lend to public, people bought houses on their savings or thru employee thrift funds
- Money lenders profited
- restrications of export mean among others gold, foriegn currency were smuggled illegally and it led to the development of Mafia in Bombay thru the Gulf-singapore route
-Ration shops thru Food corp of India bougth most of the rice and wheat meant that 80% of India which "still" has no ration shops faced food shortage and increased poverty. (Govt created poverty and food shortages thru ration shops)

- Inflation was 15% during Rajiv Gandhi period ( slighlty better than 20% during post-1962 period)
- GDP Growth was 8% ( but average for 1950-1991 is still 3%)
- Income tax was very high around 55%
- Poverty rate was close to 60%
- Foriegn Debt went from 15Bn USD to 75 bn USD ( that eventually led to 1990/1 foriegn current crisis on account of US invasion of Iraq)

and so on it is such a pain to even write about all these. None of these changed till Manmohan singh was appointed as Finance Minister

What Rajiv Gandhi really did are and succeeded
- New Education policy - which led to private colleges and good quality Navodaya schools
- Telecom policy - Govt relaxed export of electronic goods , which allowed BSNL and MTNL to export routers, switches and fiber cables, which led to a dawn of digital telephone in India
- Computerization of Government, his government favored computerization of government ( note there is no support for private sector)
- Panchayati Raj introduction
- Consumer act law
- His government prepared papers of election reforms, judicial reforms, education reforms, Labor reforms, liberalsation reforms, privatisation reforms, globalization reforms.( BUT he IMPLEMENTED NONE in spite of having 400 MPS in Lok sabha)

Where Rajiv Gandhi really failed
- He and his govt slept thru collapse of communism ( compare to Nehru or even Indira)
- Bofors - his failure is not in bofors corruption, but after exporting bofors guns, he cancelled all business deal with bofors, resulting in those guns having no bombs, those guns one of the best in mountain terrains like kashmir lived empty for over 13 yrs before kargil forced the govt to buy the bombs from Israel for emergency and then from Bofors
- HDW submarine, HDW is a West Germany company which was building submarines in bombay with transfer of technology to India, but becoz of bofors and another round of corruption accustions, Govt cancelled the contract. HDW packed up. The end result even after 23 yrs, India has no capability to build submarine even today.
- Having huge majority in parliament , he did not go ahead with 33% women reservation nor he allowed pachayats to raise their own tax.

MY next article will be " Part 2:- Why I disagreed with My Friend" It will be in general in What Manmohan singh did and did not achieve during 1991-96

2008-02-03T00:35:00.000-05:00

Touching Video

2008-01-26T21:58:00.000-05:00

Love , Respect and Why I dislike socialism and Communism

If Love is a river which it should be , everflowing , than respect is the banks. where the bank breaks, river disappears. Respect is always earned and has never been given free. Respect is always earned, when a human or humans show their skills and IMPROVES on it. Improvement or progress is the keyword. That is exceed the expectations by setting expectations.Nobody expects anything from a lazy person. Not much from a poor person. Poor deserves sympathy or compassion but not friendship.
Former soviet union is a great example many russians`are extremely skilled in maths and science but when they are paid same as poor peasants , innovation died. poverty rose and USSR collapse.Similarly in a family, if skilled and hard working persons are not respectd in a family, that family/society falls into poverty. Indeed many rich families in the 2nd generations fall into poverty with poor skills, as they spend more money and time on luxury and lavish parties. Downside of this higher respect for earning member are mother-in-law vs Daughter-in-law fight. When both of them have low skills, low confidence creeps in with gossip, jealousness and lazy,sloppy house work, they definitely pick up more fight. if among them, when one of them is hardworking, earning and creative. things eventually turn out to be different. Hardwork is a attitude, those who are dedicated to what they do, will do anywork and achieve higher skills. they tend to have higher self-confidence and will always turn out to be lucky.

Socialism and communism even though favors work, they discourage initiative, individualism.Love and respect are very individualistic, it is very difficult love everybody, even more difficult to respect people, you may appreciate people but hardly you can respect them

Even though Roger federer lost in 2008 Aus. openSemifinals, his skill, style and power is more due to his hardwork and the dedication. History is full of lessons but Many Many people refuse to believe and accept that hardwork alone (even w/o money) will make one eventually a skilled, happy, rich person and well respected.

2007-12-14T14:50:00.001-05:00

Fragrance of love

2007-11-30T10:43:00.001-05:00

Go not to temple to put flowers upon the feet of God,
First fill your own house with the fragrance of love.

Go not to temple to light earthen vessel before the
altar of God,
First remove the darkness of sin from your heart.

Go not to the temple to bow down your head in prayer,
First learn to bow in humility before your fellowmen.

Go not to temple to pray on bended knee,
First bend down to lift someone who is down trodden.

Go not to temple to ask for forgiveness for your sins,

First forgive from your heart those who have sinned
against you.

Rabindranath Tagore

Wisdom

2007-11-26T11:38:00.001-05:00

Ever heard the story of the giant ship engine that failed? The ship's owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure but how to fix the engine.

Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was a youngster.

He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom.

Two of the ship's owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life.

He carefully put his hammer away. The engine was fixed! A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for ten thousand dollars.

"What?!" the owners exclaimed. "He hardly did anything!"

So they wrote the old man a note saying, "Please send us an itemized bill."

The man sent a bill that read:

Tapping with a hammer..... $ 2.00
Knowing where to ......... $ 9998.00

Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort in your life makes all the difference.

One more of my Favorite

2007-11-02T14:22:00.000-04:00

Copied from Sulekha - Dimwit

2007-11-01T14:55:00.000-04:00

These are great thoughts, I want to keep it for chewing...

Skewed Economics

*Value: As defined and included in the GDP of a nation.

If economics drives a nation’s policies, and the goal is to increase the GDP year over year, then guess where value is going to come from?

A tree that stands and nurtures the environment, has no economic value. As soon as an axe cuts it down, it is assigned value.

The grass, the flowers, the plants and all those organic things that make a park for leisure have no economic value. The concrete pavement and the tarred road have value. The buildings, and even parking garages that take over these parks have tremendous value.

Mass produced agricultural produce, transported over great distance, sometimes frozen and then unfrozen for sale, with serious loss of nutrition – has value. Freshly picked produce from a kitchen garden, replete with nutrition – has no value.

Fresh groundwater laboriously filled by the villagers at the well, and then carted home in earthen pots has no economic value. Chlorinated water delivered at your home tap has value.

Solar powered homes reduce consumption of sold electricity, therefore lower GDP. Nuclear plants built to generate electricity add value. Dams and reservoirs that destroy natural landscape add value.

Oil generation has value. Environment destruction in the extraction process is not debited.

Oil traded and used has value. Environment pollution caused by its use is not debited.

A homemaker working at home has no economic value. If she crosses the street and works at another home, there is value.

Mother’s milk has no economic value. Baby formula has value.

Sperm donation, that requires masturbation, is paid for and therefore adds to the GDP. Egg donation, that requires body-invading procedure – it’s illegal to be paid for.

Safe driving has no economic value. A car crash acquires value.

A healthy child has no economic value. A sick one who needs medical care acquires value.

A home cooked meal has no economic value. Packaged and processed food, and restaurant or fast food has value.

A hand made card, a home made gift, a poem written in love, a basket of fresh fruit from your own fruit trees or wildflowers picked from a field have no economic value. Teddy bears stuffed with god-knows what, cheesy greetings written by strangers and printed on a card, sugar laden chocolatey treats, and flowers cut and packaged in plastic acquire value. Guess which one is promoted?

Peace has no value. War generates value - arms production, destruction, and regeneration. Especially war that is waged far away from one’s own country (thereby causing no stoppage of work domestically that could result in loss of value) adds great value to the GDP.

I wonder what it means when a country says that their GDP has increased. I seriously don't know whether to congratulate them or not anymore.

My Friday Story

2007-10-28T20:20:00.000-04:00

Life~anonymous~As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will.
You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it's harder every time.
You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken.

You'll fight with your best friend.
You'll blame a new love for things an old one did.
You'll cry because time is passing too fast,
and you'll eventually lose someone you love.

So take too many pictures, laugh too much,
and love like you've never been hurt
because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back.
Don't be afraid that your life will end,
be afraid that it will never begin.

State has a duty to stop conversions to maintain public order—Justice K.T. Thomas

2007-10-25T10:51:00.001-04:00

Text of the sixth Rev. Dr. Stanley Samartha Memorial Lecture

State has a duty to stop conversions to maintain public order—Justice K.T. Thomas
(Justice K.T. Thomas, retired in 2002 as a Justice in the Supreme Court. He has delivered a lecture on conversions in a programme organised by the Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue (BIRD). The audience comprised essentially of christian clergy and intellectuals. The programme was held in the main cathedral in Bangalore. Justice Thomas’ speech was really a bold and forthright one.)

Whenever mass conversions took place from Hindus to Budhisim, I never heard even a whisper of criticism. But when conversion of even a small group took place from Hindus to Christians or to Islam, the critics raised their voice, sometimes the criticism became strident and even aggressive on the allegation that such conversions were brought about by allurement, if not by fraudulent methods.

Why conversions from Hinduism to Budhism or Jainism or even Sikhism never created any problem in India. Because they are Indian originated religions. But the problem arose only when such conversion is made from Hindu religion to Christianity, Islam or Jewish religion. They are counted as Semitic religions.

Fundamentally Hindu religion did not believe in proselytization. In this connection it will be interesting to read the words of Mahatma Gandhi when he said as early as 19th January 1928 (He was then addressing an assembly of delegates from different religions)...

This was a subject of fume and sensitivity. A few years ago when some of the states proposed to pass legislation banning conversion, then it became a topic of debate in public places and also in the columns of the print media. When Jayalalitha government of Tamil Nadu proposed to bring such a legislation, a lot of protests were aired by Christians. At a later stage, she agreed to retrace the step for reasons not disclosed.

Whenever mass conversions took place from Hindus to Budhisim, I never heard even a whisper of criticism. But when conversion of even a small group took place from Hindus to Christians or to Islam, the critics raised their voice, sometimes the criticism became strident and even aggressive on the allegation that such conversions were brought about by allurement, if not by fraudulent methods.

Why conversions from Hinduism to Budhism or Jainism or even Sikhism never created any problem in India. Because they are Indian originated religions. But the problem arose only when such conversion is made from Hindu religion to Christianity, Islam or Jewish religion. They are counted as semitic religions. They are also called Abrahamic religions as the common primogenitor for all those religions was Abraham (also called Ibrahim in Arabic). We can conveniently leave out Jewish religion as no recorded instance could be pointed out when somebody had converted from Hinduism to Jewish religion. When I refer to conversion, it may be understood as conversion either to Christianity or Islam.

I remember four different occasions when conversion from Hindu religion was raised as a political or legal question. First, when the Indian Constitution was made. Second was in 1956 when Justice Niyogi Commission report was published containing a recommendation that foreign missionaries shall be banned in India and also to impose statutory restrictions against conversion. The third occasion was in 1967-68 when the Congress governments of Orissa and Madhya Pradesh passed legislations imposing penal provisions against conversion by allurement and fraud. The fourth was in the recent past when some of the BJP state governments and the AIDMK government in Tamil Nadu brought similar legislations.

Many Christians believe that Jesus Christ issued a mandate to convert all people to Christianity. In support of this, the scriptural sentence often quoted is Chapter. 28-19 of the gospel according to Mathew: “Therefore go ye into all the I!; . world and make all people my disciples and baptise them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy spirit”.

The Christians appear to believe that they can afford to ignore or disobey the rest of the teachings and commandments of Jesus Christ relating to social justice, but they should implicitly follow the mandate of conversion because it would result in increase the strength of Christian population.

We must remember that no legislation has imposed any restriction on conversion if it is done by one’s own free will. Conversion was made an offence in the Orissa Act and also in the MP Act, if such conversion is brought out by others through compulsion, allurement, force or fraud. I remember the furor created then by the church. The validity of those Acts was challenged before the High Courts concerned and lastly in the Supreme Court. When it reached the Supreme Court, the case was heard by a Constitution bench (minimum 5 Judges). One of the Judges who heard that case was a Muslim by name Justice M.H. Beg. The decision of the Supreme Court came to be reported as Rev. Stanslavos Vs. State. The five Judge bench examined the validity of different (provisions of the legislations and held that none of the provisions is unconstitutional. Even before the Constitution came into force, conversion by persuasion was objected by many Hindu leaders. Conversion was an irritant in Indian society, as almost all conversions were from Hindus to other religions and not vice-versa.

This is because fundamentally Hindu religion did not believe in proselytization. In this connection it will be interesting to read the words of Mahatma Gandhi when he said as early as 19th January 1928 (He was then addressing an assembly of delegates from different religions). “I came to the conclusion long ago, after prayerful research and discussion with as many people as I could meet, that all religions were true, and also that all had some error in them; and that, whilst I hold my own religion, I should hold others as dear as Hinduism from which it logically follows that we should hold all as dear as our nearest kith and kin, and make no distinction between them. So, we can only pray if we are Hindus, not that a Christian should become a Hindu, or if we are Mussalmans not that a Hindu or a Christian should become a Mussalman, nor should we even secretly pray that anyone should be converted; our inmost prayer should be that a Hindu should be a better Hindu, a Muslim a better Muslim, and a Christian a better Christian. I would not only not try to convert but would not even secretly pray that anyone should embrace my faith” .

This was a very unambiguous stand of Mahatma Gandhi whose adoration and admiration of Lord Jesus Christ was convincingly much higher than majority of Christians themselves.

The right to freedom of conscience is enshrined in Article 25 of the Constitution as a fundamental right. It is a right conferred not only on the citizens of India, but on all persons. The article says “All persons are equally entitled to freedom of ‘: conscience, and the right to freely profess, practise and propagate religion”. We ; must remember that the word “propagate” was added to the Article by the Constituent Assembly after heated deliberations. Some persons opposed it on the ground that no secular Republic should allow it. According to them, propagating one religion involves propagating against another religion which could give rise to bitterness and communal hostility. Hence, a permission to propagate religion may sometimes lead to hysterical outbursts. The trend of the debate in the Constituent Assembly shows that if the word “propagate” was not included as part of the Fundamental Rights, religious freedom as for Christians might remain only a mirage. It is interesting to note that it was Sardar Vallabhai Patel who strongly pleaded for inclusion of the word “propagate”. When the turn of Kulapathi K.M. Munshi came (he was the founder of Bharateeya Vidya Bhavan and also one of the greatest legal luminaries of India) he spoke like this:

”I know it was on this word ‘propagate’ that the Indian Christian community laid the greatest emphasis, not because they wanted to convert people aggressively, but because the word ‘propagate’ was fundamental part of their tenet. Even if the word were not there, I am sure, under the Freedom of Speech which the Constitution guarantees it will be open to any religious community to persuade other people to join their faith. So long as religion is religion, conversion by free exercise of the conscience has to be recognised”

K. Santhanam who was a renowned Constitutional expert of that time spoke like this: I quote:-”A good deal of injustice would be done to the great Christian community in India if we delete the word propagate. After all propagation is merely Freedom of Expression. I would like to point out that the word ‘convert’ is not there. Mass conversion was a part of the activities of the Christian Missionaries in this country and great objection has been taken by the people to that. Those who drafted this Constitution have taken care to see that no unlimited right of conversion had been given. People have freedom of conscience, then well and good, no restrictions can be placed against it. But if any attempt is made by one religious community or another to have mass conversions through undue influence either by money or by pressure or by other means, the State has every right to regulate such activity. Therefore, I submit to you that this article, as it is, is not so much an article ensuring freedom, but toleration - toleration for all, irrespective of the religious practice or profession”.

When the word ‘propagate’ was finally included as part of the religious freedom, the word ‘convert’ was deliberately avoided. What is the extent of the right to propagate? Does it include the right to propagate that your religion is faulty and my religion alone is perfect? Can it be permitted to propagate that, if only you follow my religion, you will enter into Heaven, but if you remain in your religion you might land up in Hell. Here comes the role of religious obscurantist. A religious fundamentalist believes that his religion alone is the right religion and all other religions are erroneous if not fake. As a religious pedantic he may be entitled to believe so but he cannot be allowed to propagate it for two reasons.

First is that, his belief that another religion is wrong is based on his ignorance about that other religion. According to me, he is ignorant of his own religion. If he knew of his own religion well, he would have realised that no religion is perfect in itself. Metropolitan Philippose Chrysostum, one of the most profound thinkers on religious pluralism, whose perorations could keep any audience to spell bound attention, once said that “Multiplicity of religion is a gift of God. It is because of other religions that imperfections of one religion can be replenished”. Akbar the Great decided to form a new religion by collecting different principles from different religions. The name of the new religion was “Din lIahi”. It was a bold experiment made by a great secularist monarch. But unfortunately, that religion died out with the death of the emperor. Is it not a stark truth that no religion in the world is perfect by itself.

Let us take the case of Christian religion. What we have is only a very small portion of the vast area of teachings and preaching made by Jesus Christ. We have only what has been recorded in the four small books called gospels. The last gospel writer St. John had said in categorical terms that if what all Jesus said and did were recorded, the whole world could not hold them in books. Do you require more proof to show that Christian religion, as we know it now, is quite imperfect because, we know only a fraction of what Jesus himself said and did.

Based on such a truncated portion, if somebody propagates that Christianity is a perfect religion then you are going against the very gospel precept.

Second is, if every religious preacher is allowed to speak that the other religion is wrong or fake, one can imagine the explosive situation which would be created by such propaganda. Religion has a tendency to erupt hysterical reactions. I have observed that this tendency is more acute among people following Semitic or Abrahamic religions. In all communal riots recorded in history at least one of the sides has been an Abrahamic religion. So a permission to propagate that your religion is inferior to my religion, if not to the extent of saying that your religion is fake, such propagation is very likely to stimulate fury and frenzy. That would snowball into creation of fertile soil for communal riots.

In this context, we must remember that, the right to religious freedom has been conferred in Article 25 of the Constitution by giving greater importance to public order, morality and health and also to the other provisions of the Constitution.

This can be discerned from the initial words of that Article (subject to public order, morality and health etc. all persons are entitled to freedom of religion). Thus public order, morality and health will override religious freedom. In other words, greater importance is given to public order, morality and health. If religious freedom is exercised in such manner as to endanger public order then it is the duty of the state to stop it.

A Great person

2007-10-17T17:11:00.001-04:00

If you want happiness...

2007-10-12T17:59:00.001-04:00

M S Swaminathan - Hero

2007-10-10T13:11:00.001-04:00

From :- Gitanjali

2007-09-19T10:46:00.000-04:00

oh life of my life, I shall ever try to keep my body pure,
knowing that thy living touch is upon all my limbs.

I shall ever try to keep all untruths out from my thoughts,
knowing that thou art that truth which has kindled the light of reason in my mind.

I shall ever try to drive all evils away from my heart and keep my love in flower,
knowing that thou hast thy seat in the inner most shrine of my heart.
And it shall be my endeavour to reveal thee in my actions,
knowing it is thy power gives me strength to act.

Rabindra Nath Tagore

2007-09-17T16:25:00.001-04:00

I know Nothing of VEDAS

Mumbai as an IFC

2007-09-12T17:56:00.000-04:00

Key recommendations of Mistry committee
-Full capital account convertibility by 2008-end
-Eliminate securities transaction tax by 2007 and stamp duties by 2008
-Open up purchase of rupee-denominated debt instruments issued by the government to all buyers
-Focus monetary authority exclusively on single task of managing key short-term 'base rate' by 2009-10
-Set up independent public debt management office by 2009
-hift financial regulatory regime from rules-based regulation to principles-based regulation by 2011
-Permit unrestricted entry of well-known global accounting firms operating in IFCs/GFCs by 2008
-Transfer all regulation/supervision of any type of organised financial trading to SEBI by 2008

Other side of Micro finance

2007-09-04T17:09:00.000-04:00

I like Micro finance and is one of my interest, I found this on the web, the other side of microfinance, keeping for future reference

Awareness

2007-08-30T14:28:00.000-04:00

"Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts."-- Albert Einstein

Atham pathinnu Thiruonam

2007-08-17T13:59:00.000-04:00

Maveli nadu vaneedum kalam Manusharellarumonnupole...Kallvumilla chatiyumilla..ellolamilla polivachanam..
[When Mahabali was ruling country, every human beings were equal.There was no theft; no cheating, no not even a word of lie by anybody..]

Today is Chingam onnu and also Hatham nakshtra ( Leo 1st and moon constellation)

Mahabali is the supreme embodiment of strength and Kindness.

Mahabali was a very good example for kindness, humbleness, human loving nature beneficial to the society and oneself and many more :It is said that he lived in Kerala; . Mahabali was an Asura(which valued Tanta and Yoga); The fight – should I do it or shouldn't I; Should I be good, or bad etc must have been present inside that great individual who stood against the common social flow of selfishness and became a real individual; During this season, The beauty of Kerala comes to mind. I love Onam, Mahabali and Kerala.

Conceit

2007-08-14T10:21:00.001-04:00

One day a famous government officer met a highly respected elderly master. Being conceited, he wanted to prove that he was the superior person.As their conversation drew on, he asked the master, "Old monk, do you know what I think of you and the things you said?"The master replied, "I don't care what you think of me. You are entitled to have your own opinion."The officer snorted, "Well, I will tell you what I think anyway. In my eyes, you are just like a pile of dry shit!"The master simply smiled and stayed quiet.Seeing that his insult had fallen into deaf ears, he asked curiously, "And what do you think of me?"The master said, "In my eyes, you are just like the Buddha."Hearing this remark, the officer left happily and bragged to his wife about the incident.His wife said to him, "You conceited fool! When a person has a heart like a pile of dry shit, he sees everyone in that light. The elderly master has a heart like that of the Buddha, and that is why in his eyes, everyone, including you, is like the Buddha!"

A Present

2007-08-08T12:48:00.000-04:00

We live our whole life, believing what others say about us, depending on their views and doing what they approve. We start compromising with our ownselves and ultimately lose ourselves for others. But wait. Can we satisfy all of them? No, because there are so many of them.
So many different and conflicting opinions are fed into our mind. Result, many voices inside us.
Can we listen to and follow all of them? No. So we choose and lose many, on whom we depend.
The nett result is we lose ourselves and lose others also. What a maddening situation!
You can save yourself from this plight only by self effort. Nobody is going to save you.

Now, start with your Heart, it is the driver and then go to the Head it is the vehicle.
Feel and experience, in the Present. Leave the Past, forget the Future.
The one is already dead and the other is yet unborn. These two are beyond You.

Live in the Present because only that belongs to you. This is "Art of Living".

Different Plates!!!!!!

2007-07-24T13:37:00.000-04:00

Once upon a time, there lived a crippled man. This man was married, but he was attracted to the prostitute that lived in the house opposite to his. One day his wife saw him looking very morose.
"What's wrong, my dear husband?" she inquired. "Even though I am married to you," he replied, "I am attracted to the prostitute. I am asking you to make an arrangement for me." So being a very chaste and obedient wife, she wished to fulfill her husband's desire, and she began going to the prostitute's house when no-one was home, and clean there. After a while this prostitute noticed, "Someone is cleaning my house. I am not asking anyone to do this, so I wonder who it could be."
So one day the prostitute stayed back, and after some time the crippled man's wife came and began cleaning. The prostitute approached her and said, "Why are you doing this?" She replied, "My husband is very attracted to you, and he wants to meet with you, but we are very poor, and cannot afford to pay. So instead I am offering some service. The prostitute said, "Very well, send him over tonight."
That night the prostitute prepared a very nice dinner and she served a portion of each of these preparations onto two plates, one of gold and one of silver. When the man arrived, she requested him to partake of the food she had prepared for him. "Please take from the silver plate." she told him. After he had finished all the food on the silver plate, the prostitute told him to take from the gold plate. When he had finished, the prostitute inquired from the man, "Now, was there any difference in taste?"
Surprised, the man replied, "What difference? These are exactly the same preparations, only served on different plates. You must be crazy!" "No, you are the one, who is mad!!" the prostitute replied. What's the difference between me and your wife? Only the covering is different!!The man came back to his senses.
He begged forgiveness for lascivious behavior from his wife and thanked the prostitute for opening his eyes. Human tendency is to enjoy, but uncontrolled enjoyment will be a real havoc for the society. The jewels of wisdom given by sages show us the right path; guide us to have controlled enjoyment. Be content with what is being provided by the providence. Desires are endless.
Until and unless we put a voluntary control over these, we will be running after them like animals and will have no peace. Fulfillment of desires doesn't bring peace but endless chase for fulfilling more desires. Unconrolled desires are the root of anxiety and unhappiness in life. (Asha hi param dukham nairashayam param sukham– Srimad Bhagavat).If one seeks peace in life, one should stay content with the spouse they have, amount of food they get and the amount of wealth they obtain, but one should never be satisfied with the amount of charity given, devotional service peformed and number of holy names chanted!

Recipe For Happiness

2007-07-20T16:10:00.001-04:00

Two heaped cups of patience,
One heartful of love,
Two handfuls of generosity,
One headful of understanding
add a dash of humour,
Sprinkle it with kindness,
Mix it with plenty of faith .
Spread over a period of a lifetime
and serve to everyone you meet.

2007-07-18T17:21:00.000-04:00

He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver

2007-07-13T11:45:00.000-04:00

Once a woman was puzzled and wondered what the Bible verse "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." meant about the character and nature of God.

She offered to find out the process of refining silver and called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heatup. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest so as to burn away all the impurities.The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot;

then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire.If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.The woman was silent for a moment.

Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it."If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you and, no matter whatever you are going through now, you will be a better person in the end!

You are Divine. You are part of me. I am part of you. —Sri Sri Ravi Shankar,

Do not injure nor let others injure you

2007-07-12T17:39:00.000-04:00

A story told by Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa:

"A serpent dwelt in a certain locality. No one dared to pass by that way, for whoever did so was instantaneously bitten to death by that serpent. Once a holy man passed by. As usual the serpent pursued that sage with a view of biting him, but when it approached the holy man, it lost all its ferocity and was over-powered by his gentleness.

Seeing the snake, the holy man said, “Well, friend, do you want to bite me?” The snake was abashed and made no reply. At this the sage said again, “Hearken, friend, do not injure anyone in future.” The snake bowed and nodded assent. After the sage had gone his own way, the snake entered its hole, and thenceforth began to live a life of innocence and purity without even wishing to harm anyone.

In a few days it became a common belief in the neighbourhood that the snake had lost all its venom and was no more dangerous, and so people began to tease it. Some pelted stones at it and others dragged it mercilessly by the tail. Thus there was no end to its troubles. Fortunately, sometime after, the sage again passed that way seeing the bruised and battered condition of the poor snake, was very much moved to pity and inquired about the cause of its distress. At this the snake replied. “Sir, I have been reduced to this state, because I have not been injuring anyone since I received your instruction. But alas! They are so merciless!”

The sage smilingly said “Dear friend, I only advised you not to bite anyone, but I never asked you not to hiss and frighten others. Although you should not bite any creature, still you should keep every one at a considerable distance from you by hissing.”

Similarly, if you live in the world, make yourself feared and respected. Do not injure, but do not at the same time let others injure you. "

Walk in Peace

2007-07-12T15:04:00.000-04:00

It was just brought to my attention that many times we glance over what others are saying to us or showing us in a hurry to get on to what we wish to present or say. This is not truly existing. Stop for a moment. Watch, listen, truly pay attention to yourself and the person or persons that you are with, speaking with, gaining something from. Don't allow the chatter of your mind to take control of your day or moment.A way to quiet this chatter is to meditate and/or simply find a quietplace for even 5 minutes and just be there.

If a thought or conversation comes into your mind, acknowledge it and then let it know that you are sitting quietly now and will get back to it and then allow it to release from your thoughts, from your mind. Go back to that place of quiet as you are working at being one with yourself and nothing else.
You can also do this through observation of something. Go outside, sit somewhere comfortable and focus your attention on something within the space you are occupying. A flower, a plant, the tree, the grass, the sky, the sound around you. Whatever you select,be there with it and nothing else. Again if your mind starts to wander, acknowledge it and bring it back simply, not forceably but with intention and purpose.This is a wonderful practice to do. All of those stressful ideas and thoughts that are within us work to control and take over our presence and purpose. We must gain back the control over these thoughts in order to change up the energy, raise our vibration and transform our existence to something more pure, calm, quiet ... to create the peace and balance, the harmony that we are all seeking toknow and enjoy. Bring back the happiness within!

My Bicycle

2007-07-10T16:09:00.001-04:00

Written on Aug 8th 1990 at Chenna!!!

My father bought me a cycle
it is a brown, new model bicycle

strong with steels, light heave easy one
rough seat, broken springs, cleaning undone

brown and white with trye black
with bend wheels, less spokes, males tracks
all the way on Indian roads

with makes, ugly waters and dirt
it protects my dress from all dirts
which forms a part and parcel of Indian roads

Shekar Kapur poem

2007-07-06T16:42:00.001-04:00

http://www.intentblog.com/archives/2007/02/letting_go_1.html

Astronomy in olden ages

2007-07-05T16:55:00.001-04:00

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5202405300929826351

When your prayer is of laughter and tears, it is a true prayer

2007-07-03T16:17:00.000-04:00

Sing until your breath crackles to the last.
Note what is caught upon the passing wind.
Laugh until the pains squeeze authority into chaotic blasts,
and then into puny puffs.
Cry until the peak of your tears,
like the pure tips of a wave before it folds into the gulping sea.
Ah, but love when your heart beats the beat of nights full of daffodils,
for then you are.If you can allow your tears totality, then you are.

-Anonymous and from OSHO

Let My Country Awake

2007-06-30T21:29:00.001-04:00

where the mind is withour fear
and the head is held high
where knowledge is free
where the world has not been broken
into fragments by narrow domestic walls

where words come out from the depth of truth
where tireless striving stretches its arms
towards prefection;

where the clear stream of reason
has not lost its way
into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
where the mind is led forward by thee
into ever-lasting thought and action
into that heaven of freedom, my father
LET MY COUNTRY AWAKE

By Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore

"one day, I dream of writing a poem like this"

2007-06-28T14:28:00.001-04:00

Another of those great rediff posts

http://specials.rediff.com/news/2007/jun/25s1.htm

Forever for me

Nice poem Link

2007-06-26T14:51:00.000-04:00

I came across this beautiful poem

http://obscuredbyclouds.sulekha.com/blog/post/2007/06/i-can-see-you-still.htm

I used to love the word "system"

2007-06-25T15:35:00.000-04:00

written on 10/8/90

Systematic evaluation of life
in the long run is always a strife
Changes is in everything must take place in life
we live to die but we must enjoy the life
For changes in our living we need the drive
which comes from faith in strive

courage, love, truth and god's grace
which comes thru a good heart and man's love
working for oneself and one's nest never become a life
living for known and unknown lives
is the living fully a human life

All our journey is to death
Journey is good in life
life is to be loved to enjoy
for death to be sweet and worth

Home food

2007-06-19T10:07:00.000-04:00

Written on 9/8/90 at chennai

To go to a restaurant for eating
is a joy and change during anytime

breakfast by fresh juice drinks
lunch by heavy meals
snacks by after noon
cream and savories in the evening

light foods at nights
for having a good sleep in moonlight

Still to cook at home and eat is still wonderful, why?

I wrote on my mother

2007-06-13T17:30:00.000-04:00

Wrote on 12/8/90 in chennai

My mother is a symbol of love to me
to her So much I owe
serene and peaceful like dove
is her heart full of love for me

harsh and mad is her nature
but I have no fear for her
for then I cannot fear her
for sincerely I like, obey and love her

trying hard to change me
she scolds, because she likes me
mad to make me better
she screams, as she loves me

never can I repay any of her love
for she is my own birth
so how I can my repay my own debt
if any?

No road is long with a good company

2007-06-12T16:16:00.001-04:00

Wrote on 4/8/90

All Journey is a joy
travel to enjoy
Earth is not all same and dry
to be with friends , wonders can be made

to talk, walk , share
in play, pray , eat
to forget sorrow, study, work
yet learn, love and thank

Sitting or standing ,
Running or sleeping
Summer, winter, autumn and spring
sun or rain, day or night
to be with your friends and loved ones is Heaven

Lover Sun's flower

2007-06-08T11:50:00.000-04:00

Wrote on 3/8/90 @ chennai

She blossoms in the color of her love
She blossoms in the shape of her love
She blossoms with her lover
She blooms in the direction of her lover

She follows her love
She suffers for her love
She glues to her love

With so great Ideals of life, love, friendship, sacrifice
makes Sun rises everyday to see his lover "sunflower" bloom
Every living being on earth owes the sunflower their life
for she brings the energy of her lover to shine, bright and great

-:)

My Tommy

2007-06-07T15:01:00.000-04:00

Wrote on 2/8/90 in Chennai, TN, India

My dog Tommy
My little tommy was a puppy
when I was young enough to be a baby
So our friendship was instant and innocent

we blossomed faster and stronger in our friendship
So faithful and friendly,
he follows me wherever I walk
he carries me on his back

he used to warn at many danger
he runs into me at every corner
he is alert in every needful hour

Our tommy left us three years
we were friends
we left me with memories
of great warmth, strength, fun and happiness

I did Jogging once

2007-06-06T15:09:00.000-04:00

1/8/90
Hip hip hurray
Jogging on my way
on Sun's first ray
for health, being happy
and before my youth say
old is gold, on a better day

I Dream

2007-06-04T14:22:00.000-04:00

30/7/90
I wait for the night to have a dream
it inspires like a child who sees a cream
all the dreams are not cream
but they do make me beam

My foundations are my imaginations
the castles I built on them are my ambitions
but ambitions to success requires actions
Real, original actions with dedications

Cannes Winners 2007

2007-05-29T14:09:00.000-04:00

Palme d'Or (Golden Palm)

4 Luni, 3 Saptamini Si 2 Zile (4 Months, 3 weeks and 2 days), Cristian Mungiu (right), Romania

Sounds Sanskrit/indish ( Luni = lunar,saptamini = saptami =7)

The Fear of the living

2007-05-22T13:30:00.000-04:00

Written first on 23/july/1990 and later updated

Death is fear of living
Its thought,
brings insecuirty
but cultivates ambition

Its feeling,
brings philosophy
and builds purpose for living

its nature,
brings out a persons life
principles of a life lived

Age of death
brings sympathy for the young
brings misery for middle age
brings pity at old age

Death of good, makes him a just
death of great, makes him a legend
death of wise, brings great sorrow
death of brave, makes him a hero

Death is no end of life
Death is mirror of ones life
Death should be a beginning
for death can have no death

Voice of Swami Vivekananda

2007-05-16T22:12:00.000-04:00

Thundering Lion voice of Swami Vivekananda

nalladhoar veenai seydhae....

2007-05-16T21:40:00.000-04:00

nalladhoar veenai seydhae - adhai
nalangedap puzhudhiyil erivadhundoa

(nalladhoar)

solladi sivasakthi - enaich
chudarmigum arivudan padaiththuvittaay
vallamai thaaraayoa - indha
maanilam payanura vaazhvadharkae
solladi sivasakthi - nilach
chumaiyena vaazhndhidap puriguvaiyoa

(nalladhoar)

visaiyurup pandhinaip poal - ullam
vaendiyapadi seyyum udal kaettaen
nasaiyaru manam kaettaen - niththam
navamenach chudar tharum uyir kaettaen...uyir kaettaen...uyir kaettaen
thasaiyinaith theechchudinum - siva
sakthiyaip paadum nallagam kaettaen
asaivuru madhi kaettaen - ivai
arulvadhil unakkedhum thadaiyuladhoa (2)

(nalladhoar)

For english subtitles and better/diffferent appreciation click here

Motivated by ....

2007-05-16T21:36:00.000-04:00

I was inspired for writing poems by kannadasan , bharathiyar and Tagore . I may have to add keats or wordsworth, becoz of school english books which are ofcourse boring. I thought I will post my favorite lyrics here for everybody to enjoy.

Over a period of years I found that I also like to play with words one for humour and another for just stop thinking/getting involved deep emotions/manipulations

After all a thing of beauty is a joy for ever

In Love

2007-05-16T17:13:00.000-04:00

July/21/1990

We are away by miles
We are too near by smiles
We can easily hurt
it is painful for heart

we have an obstacle of hair
we meet by being a liar
we walk hand in hand
on grass, floor and sand
we sin by hint
we are sinned by mind

our heart is a peaceful dove
when we know we are in love

Miserly pleasure

2007-05-16T17:11:00.000-04:00

19/july/1990

There is pleasure in pain
There is love in hate
there is generosity in greediness
there is food in poison
there is greatness in smallness

but

there is no peace in jealousness
there is no happiness in hatred
there is no success in cruelty
there is no honor in laziness
there is no greatness in cheating
there is no wealth in miserliness

Silence of Peace

2007-05-11T16:56:00.000-04:00

the beauty that is truth
that duty that is sincere
the silence that is peace
are of the heart that is great

the fortitude led by prudence
the conscience led by heart
the thoughts, Not led by desires
are of the body led by a great soul

The greatness of a plant
the greatness of a bird
the greatness of a animal
are all the greatness of the creator alone

I want this post so it will inspire forever

2007-05-10T17:14:00.001-04:00

http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/may/10bspec.htm

Discovery

2007-05-10T14:57:00.000-04:00

15/july/1990

My soul is singing

my hand is writing

my thoughts are light

making my poems bright

My thoughts are wide

that I forget the sides

I never believed it

Now I feel it

thoughts are like wind

that shows the infinity of your mind

mingling yourself in arts wholely

you can see your soul

Everything and Everyone

2007-05-09T16:00:00.000-04:00

13/july/90

Everything has beauty
everything is nice
everything has energy
only if everything is in its place

Everyone is great
everyone can excel
everyone has creativity
only if everyone is unselfish

2007-05-09T15:58:00.000-04:00

12/july/90 &

Animals need food
Plants need sun
Man needs communication to grow

Animals need mates
plants need roots
man needs love to be happy

Animals depends on plants
Plants depends on light
Man depends on justice for survival

animals preserves food
plants preservers water
Man preserves honor to live

2007-05-08T16:12:00.000-04:00

10/July/90 - Day of my life

day is bright
wind is strong
sun is warm
and hopes are high

Knowledge is sound
confidence is more
concentration has doubled
and courage is always there

duties are there
problems are here
worries are anywhere
But Happiness is everywhere

Life can be smooth
planning should be correct
success can be sure
for God is love
and Love is God

2007-05-01T16:11:00.000-04:00

OSHO downloads

http://rapidshare.com/users/BJXX8

very beautiful , most of them

Enjoy

Behold My Mango

2007-04-29T12:51:00.000-04:00

July 9th 1990

Behold!, how sweet is fruit called the queen of fruit
it is my favorite fruit and is called the mango fruit

Fruit is of four taste
Ripen Mango is sweet taste
Green mango is of bitter taste
and it can be made into pickle of every taste

Some Mangoes are like the cheeks
Few Mangoes are like round face
Many Mangoes are like sharp nose
Mangoes make watering of mouth

July 8th 1990

2007-04-29T12:46:00.000-04:00

I am a poet and my letters are poems
I am a Indian and my heart is India
I am a Hindu and my duties are important
I am a man and myself want to be chivalry

I am going to be a engineer and my future is bright
I am going to be a painter and my drawings are my soul
I am going to be a adult and my dreams are of youth
I am born great and my feelings are of pride

( just note these are poems written by teenager and produced here in Verbatim)

2007-04-27T21:11:00.000-04:00

Mother Therasa ( July 14, 1990)

Oh! what a great resource
for how many beings you are the source
Dangerous is your course

for great is your cause
for only few knows because
you never care for your health

ofcourse,this land is blessed
Because of your love and sacrifice
oh blessed one,
blessing one

you should live for years
as your deeds

2007-04-27T21:06:00.000-04:00

July 7th, 1990 - My first poem ( I think this is my 3rd one after 2 attempts)

This is my third poem
After the second and
First rhymes

All I want to say his that I want to PRAY.
What I want to pray is
Whom I want to pray to

Just began, I pray my God,
and to my lord , I asked
Oh Lord, help me
Oh God Help them ( -:)_
Oh Lord save me
Oh God, Help them
and just remember this is my first poem to be saved

2007-04-27T21:03:00.000-04:00

I decided to post all my poems that I worte during 1990. I do not write much poems now. Hope it is enjoyable as it was for me at that time.

Do live your comments

Thanks
Sridhar

They are birds after all

2005-10-30T20:42:00.000-05:00

They are birds after all

It was a gloomy Saturday afternoon. A flock of birds was spending great time searching for food and playing on the main road. Out of the sudden, a big truck sped through... sad thing had happened again.

Birds can feel too. Although this bird had already died, another bird flew over to her immediately, just like a family member, unable to accept the truth.

Not long after that, another car stormed in causing the dead bird's body to whirl with the wind. The spouse noticed the movement. As if she was still alive, he quickly flew beside her again.
He stayed beside her and yelled ... "WHY ARE YOU NOT GETTING UP!?"

Unfortunately, she's no longer able to hear him. In the meantime, he's trying to lift her up.

He, of course, was unable to bear the burden. Another car soon passed by. He quickly flew off. Once the car had gone, he came down again.

Although other birds told him its useles, he never gave up. He was trying his best to lift her up to see her flying again. Another car passed by, her dead body whirled again as if still alive and trying to fly.

He had used all of his energy, however...

The photographer said he couldn't shoot any longer. The photographer was so worried that the living bird was going to get hurt by passing cars. So he picked up the dead bird and left it at the roadside. The live one still lingered at a nearby tree as if crying with his singing and refused to leave.

Do humans have the same feelings nowadays? I wonder

2005-10-21T11:42:00.000-04:00

This is a Great Article on Mr.Oberoi in Rediff

On Leadership ,as Published by Rediff

2005-01-04T13:29:00.000-05:00

A leader is an agent of change, and progress is about change. In the words of Robert F Kennedy, 'Progress is a nice word; but change is its motivator.'

Leadership is about raising the aspirations of followers and enthusing people with a desire to reach for the stars. For instance, Mahatma Gandhi created a vision for independence in India and raised the aspirations of our people.

Leadership is about making people say, 'I will walk on water for you.' It is about creating a worthy dream and helping people achieve it.

Robert Kennedy, summed up leadership best when he said, 'Others see things as they are and wonder why; I see them as they are not and say why not?'

Adversity

A leader has to raise the confidence of followers. He should make them understand that tough times are part of life and that they will come out better at the end of it. He has to sustain their hope, and their energy levels to handle the difficult days.

There is no better example of this than Winston Churchill. His courageous leadership as prime minister for Great Britain successfully led the British people from the brink of defeat during World War II. He raised his people's hopes with the words, 'These are not dark days; these are great days -- the greatest days our country has ever lived.'

Never is strong leadership more needed than in a crisis. In the words of Seneca, the Greek philosopher, 'Fire is the test of gold; adversity, of strong men.'

Values

The leader has to create hope. He has to create a plausible story about a better future for the organisation: everyone should be able to see the rainbow and catch a part of it.

This requires creating trust in people. And to create trust, the leader has to subscribe to a value system: a protocol for behavior that enhances the confidence, commitment and enthusiasm of the people.

Compliance to a value system creates the environment for people to have high aspirations, self esteem, belief in fundamental values, confidence in the future and the enthusiasm necessary to take up apparently difficult tasks. Leaders have to walk the talk and demonstrate their commitment to a value system.

As Mahatma Gandhi said, 'We must become the change we want to see in the world.' Leaders have to prove their belief in sacrifice and hard work. Such behavior will enthuse the employees to make bigger sacrifices. It will help win the team's confidence, help leaders become credible, and help create trust in their ideas.

Enhancing trust

Trust and confidence can only exist where there is a premium on transparency. The leader has to create an environment where each person feels secure enough to be able to disclose his or her mistakes, and resolves to improve.

Investors respect such organisations. Investors understand that the business will have good times and bad times. What they want you to do is to level with them at all times. They want you to disclose bad news on a proactive basis. At Infosys, our philosophy has always been, 'When in doubt, disclose.'

Governance

Good corporate governance is about maximising shareholder value on a sustainable basis while ensuring fairness to all stakeholders: customers, vendor-partners, investors, employees, government and society.

A successful organisation tides over many downturns. The best index of success is its longevity. This is predicated on adhering to the finest levels of corporate governance.

At Infosys, we have consistently adopted transparency and disclosure standards even before law mandated it. In 1995, Infosys suffered losses in the secondary market. Under Indian GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles), we were not required to make this information public. Nevertheless, we published this information in our annual report.

Fearless environment

Transparency about the organisation's operations should be accompanied by an open environment inside the organisation. You have to create an environment where any employee can disagree with you without fear of reprisal.

In such a case, everyone makes suggestions for the common good. In the end everyone will be better off.

On the other hand, at Enron, the CFO was running an empire where people were afraid to speak. In some other cases, the whistle blowers have been harassed and thrown out of the company.

Managerial remuneration

We have gone towards excessive salaries and options for senior management staff. At one company, the CEO's employment contract not only set out the model of the Mercedes the company would buy him, but also promised a monthly first-class air ticket for his mother, along with a cash bonus of $10 million and other benefits.

Not surprisingly, this company has already filed for bankruptcy.

Managerial remuneration should be based on three principles:

Fairness with respect to the compensation of other employees;
Transparency with respect to shareholders and employees;
Accountability with respect to linking compensation with corporate performance.

Thus, the compensation should have a fixed component and a variable component. The variable component should be linked to achieving long-term objectives of the firm. Senior management should swim or sink with the fortunes of the company.

Senior management compensation should be reviewed by the compensation committee of the board, which should consist only of independent directors. Further, this should be approved by the shareholders.

I've been asked, 'How can I ask for limits on senior management compensation when I have made millions myself?' A fair question with a straightforward answer: two systems are at play here. One is that of the promoter, the risk taker and the capital markets; and the other is that of professional management and compensation structures.

One cannot mix these two distinct systems, otherwise entrepreneurship will be stifled, and no new companies will come up, no progress can take place. At the same time, there has to be fairness in compensation: there cannot be huge differences between the top most and the bottom rung of the ladder within an organisation.

PSPD model

A well run organisation embraces and practices a sound Predictability-Sustainability-Profitability-Derisking (we call this the PSPD model at Infosys) model. Indeed, the long-term success of an organisation depends on having a model that scales up profitably.

Further, every organisation must have a good derisking approach that recognises, measures and mitigates risk along every dimension.

Integrity

Strong leadership in adverse times helps win the trust of the stakeholders, making it more likely that they will stand by you in your hour of need. As leaders who dream of growth and progress, integrity is your most wanted attribute.

Lead your teams to fight for the truth and never compromise on your values. I am confident that our corporate leaders, through honest and desirable behaviour, will reap long-term benefits for their stakeholders.

Two mottos

In conclusion, keep in mind two Sanskrit sentences: Sathyannasti Paro Dharma (there is no dharma greater than adherence to truth); and Satyameva jayate (truth alone triumphs). Let these be your motto for good corporate leadership.

The author is Chairman and Chief Mentor, Infosys Technologies.

Kerala's Current Destiny

2004-11-04T10:17:00.000-05:00

Kerala's tragedy is that for all its education, higher quality of life and socialism, it is still struck in deep-rooted casteism, hierarchy-based society with high Ego, highest suicide rate, Abuse of women, De-industrialization, Alcohol and Drug abuse. Kerala is still the half-lunatic society described by Swami Vivekananda a century back.
The Link to the article
The Government here, covered under an ugly scandal, is trying to attract investments from abroad with no plan to encourage local entrepreneurs and investments. This has been going on for 10 years without any success. The best and sure fire way to show Kerala has an industry-friendly and business-friendly is to let its own community re-invest in Kerala instead of forcing them to Gulf, Coimbatore, Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai.Etc

On defining success. by Subroto Bagchi

2004-09-25T09:42:00.000-04:00

This is an very inpiring biographical article . Address by Subroto Bagchi, Chief Operating Officer, MindTree Consulting , To the Class of 2006 at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore On defining success. July 2nd 2004. I was the last child of a small-time government servant, in a family of five brothers. My earliest memory of my father is as that of a District Employment Officer in Koraput, Orissa. It was and remains as back of beyond as you can imagine. There was no electricity; no primary school nearby and water did not flow out of a tap. As a result, I did not go to school until the age of eight; I was home-schooled. My father used to get transferred every year. The family belongings fit into the back of a jeep - so the family moved from place to place and, without any trouble, my Mother would set up an establishment and get us going. Raised by a widow, who had come as a refugee from the then East Bengal, she was a matriculate when she married my Father. My parents set the foundation of my life and the value system which makes me what I am today and largely defines what success means to me today. As District Employment Officer, my father was given a jeep by the government. There was no garage in the Office, so the jeep was parked in our house. My father refused to use it to commute to the office. He told us that the jeep is an expensive resource given by the government – he reiterated to us that it was not 'his jeep' but the government's jeep. Insisting that he would use it only to tour the interiors, he would walk to his office on normal days. He also made sure that we never sat in the government jeep - we could sit in it only when it was stationary. That was our early childhood lesson in governance - a lesson that corporate managers learn the hard way, some never do. The driver of the jeep was treated with respect due to any other member of my Father's office. As small children, we were taught not to call him by his name. We had to use the suffix 'dada' whenever we were to refer to him in public or private. When I grew up to own a car and a driver by the name of Raju was appointed - I repeated the lesson to my two small daughters. They have, as a result, grown up to call Raju, 'Raju Uncle' - very different from many of their friends who refer to their family drivers as 'my driver'. When I hear that term from a school-or college-going person, I cringe. To me, the lesson was significant – you treat small people with more respect than how you treat big people. It is more important to respect your subordinates than your superiors. Our day used to start with the family huddling around my Mother's chulha - an earthen fire place she would build at each place of posting where she would cook for the family. There was no gas, nor electrical stoves. The morning routine started with tea. As the brew was served, Father would ask us to read aloud the editorial page of The Statesman's 'muffosil' edition - delivered one day late. We did not understand much of what we were reading. But the ritual was meant for us to know that the world was larger than Koraput district and the English I speak today, despite having studied in an Oriya medium school, has to do with that routine. After reading the newspaper aloud, we were told to fold it neatly. Father taught us a simple lesson. He used to say, "You should leave your newspaper and your toilet, the way you expect to find it". That lesson was about showing consideration to others. Business begins and ends with that simple precept. Being small children, we were always enamored with advertisements in The newspaper for transistor radios - we did not have one. We saw other people having radios in their homes and each time there was an advertisement of Philips, Murphy or Bush radios, we would ask Father when we could get one. Each time, my Father would reply that we did not need one because he already had five radios - alluding to his five sons. We also did not have a house of our own and would occasionally ask Father as to when, like others, we would live in our own house. He would give a similar reply, "We do not need a house of our own. I already own five houses". His replies did not gladden our hearts in that instant. Nonetheless, we learnt that it is important not to measure personal success and sense of well being through material possessions. Government houses seldom came with fences. Mother and I collected twigs and built a small fence. After lunch, my Mother would never sleep. She would take her kitchen utensils and with those she and I would dig the rocky, white ant infested surrounding. We planted flowering bushes. The white ants destroyed them. My mother brought ash from her chulha and mixed it in the earth and we planted the seedlings all over again. This time, they bloomed. At that time, my father's transfer order came. A few neighbors told my mother why she was taking so much pain to beautify a government house, why she was planting seeds that would only benefit the next occupant. My mother replied that it did not matter to her that she would not see the flowers in full bloom. She said, "I have to create a bloom in a desert and whenever I am given a new place, I must leave it more beautiful than what I had inherited". That was my first lesson in success. It is not about what you create for yourself, it is what you leave behind that defines success My mother began developing a cataract in her eyes when I was very small. At that time, the eldest among my brothers got a teaching job at the University in Bhubaneswar and had to prepare for the civil services examination. So, it was decided that my Mother would move to cook for him and, as her appendage, I had to move too. For the first time in my life, I saw electricity in homes and water coming out of a tap. It was around 1965 and the country was going to war with Pakistan. My mother was having problems reading and in any case, being Bengali, she did not know the Oriya script. So, in addition to my daily chores, my job was to read her the local newspaper - end to end. That created in me a sense of connectedness with a larger world. I began taking interest in many different things. While reading out news about the war, I felt that I was fighting the war myself. She and I discussed the daily news and built a bond with the larger universe. In it, we became part of a larger reality. Till date, I measure my success in terms of that sense of larger connectedness. Meanwhile, the war raged and India was fighting on both fronts. Lal Bahadur Shastri, the then Prime Minster, coined the term "Jai Jawan, Jai Kishan" and galvanized the nation in to patriotic fervor. Other than reading out the newspaper to my mother, I had no clue about how I could be part of the action. So, after reading her the newspaper, every day I would land up near the University's water tank, which served the community. I would spend hours under it, imagining that there could be spies who would come to poison the water and I had to watch for them. I would daydream about catching one and how the next day, I would be featured in the newspaper. Unfortunately for me, the spies at war ignored the sleepy town of Bhubaneswar and I never got a chance to catch one in action. Yet, that act unlocked my imagination. Imagination is everything. If we can imagine a future, we can create it, if we can create that future, others will live in it. That is the essence of success. Over the next few years, my mother's eyesight dimmed but in me she created a larger vision, a vision with which I continue to see the world and, I sense, through my eyes, she was seeing too. As the next few years unfolded, her vision deteriorated and she was operated for cataract. I remember, when she returned after her operation and she saw my face clearly for the first time, she was astonished. She said, "Oh my God, I did not know you were so fair". I remain mighty pleased with that adulation even till date. Within weeks of getting her sight back, she developed a corneal ulcer and, overnight, became blind in both eyes. That was 1969. She died in 2002. In all those 32 years of living with blindness, she never complained about her fate even once. Curious to know what she saw with blind eyes, I asked her once if she sees darkness. She replied, "No, I do not see darkness. I only see light even with my eyes closed". Until she was eighty years of age, she did her morning yoga everyday, swept her own room and washed her own clothes. To me, success is about the sense of independence; it is about not seeing the world but seeing the light Over the many intervening years, I grew up, studied, joined the Industry and began to carve my life's own journey. I began my life as a clerk in a government office, went on to become a Management Trainee with the DCM group and eventually ound my life's calling with the IT industry when fourth generation computers came to India in 1981. Life took me places – I worked with outstanding people, challenging assignments and traveled all over the world. In 1992, while I was posted in the US, I learnt that my father, living a retired life with my eldest brother, had suffered a third degree burn injury and was admitted in the Safderjung Hospital in Delhi. I flew back to attend to him - he remained for a few days in critical stage, bandaged from neck to toe. The Safderjung Hospital is a cockroach infested,dirty, inhuman place. The overworked, under-resourced sisters in the burn ward are both victims and perpetrators of dehumanized life at its worst. One morning, while attending to my Father, I realized that the blood bottle was empty and fearing that air would go into his vein, I asked the attending nurse to change it. She bluntly told me to do it myself. In that horrible theater of death, I was in pain and frustration and anger. Finally when she relented and came, my Father opened his eyes and murmured to her, "Why have you not gone home yet?" Here was a man on his deathbed but more concerned about the overworked nurse than his own state. I was stunned at his stoic self. There I learnt that there is no limit to how concerned you can be for another human being and what is the limit of inclusion you can create. My father died the next day. He was a man whose success was defined by his principles, his frugality, his universalism and his sense of inclusion. Above all, he taught me that success is your ability to rise above your discomfort, whatever may be your current state. You can, if you want, raise your consciousness above your immediate surroundings. Success is not about building material comforts - the transistor that he never could buy or the house that he never owned. His success was about the legacy he left, the memetic continuity of his ideals that grew beyond the smallness of a ill-paid, unrecognized government servant's world. My father was a fervent believer in the British Raj. He sincerely doubted the capability of the post-independence Indian political parties to govern the country. To him, the lowering of the Union Jack was a sad event. My Mother was the exact opposite. When Subhash Bose quit the Indian National Congress and came to Dacca, my mother, then a schoolgirl, garlanded him. She learnt to spin khadi and joined an underground movement that trained her in using daggers and swords. Consequently, our household saw diversity in the political outlook of the two. On major issues concerning the world,the Old Man and the Old Lady had differing opinions. In them, we learnt the power of disagreements, of dialogue and the essence of living with diversity in thinking. Success is not about the ability to create a definitive dogmatic end state; it is about the unfolding of thought processes, of dialogue and continuum. Two years back, at the age of eighty-two, Mother had a paralytic stroke And was lying in a government hospital in Bhubaneswar. I flew down from the US where I was serving my second stint, to see her. I spent two weeks with her in the hospital as she remained in a paralytic state. She was neither getting better nor moving on. Eventually I had to return to work. While leaving her behind, I kissed her face. In that paralytic state and a garbled voice, she said, "Why are you kissing me, go kiss the world." Her river was nearing its journey, at the confluence of life and death, this woman who came to India as a refugee, raised by a widowed Mother, no more educated than high school, married to an anonymous government servant whose last salary was Rupees Three Hundred, robbed of her eyesight by fate and crowned by adversity - was telling me to go and kiss the world! Success to me is about Vision. It is the ability to rise above The immediacy of pain. It is about imagination. It is about sensitivity to small people. It is about building inclusion. It is about connectedness to a larger world existence. It is about personal tenacity. It is about giving back more to life than you take out of it. It is about creating extra-ordinary success with ordinary lives. Thank you very much; I wish you good luck and Godspeed. Go, kiss the world.

2004-09-24T11:47:00.000-04:00

How to use India's Growing food stocks and $$$ stocks. I tend to agree with the article
The Link to the article

World in the Times of Sridhar

You Never Know, How & When ~ Sri Sri

You Are IN ME

Without you....

By RajaShree Patel

Salaam Anna Hazare ( By Sangeetha Prithudev)

I borrowed this poem

A prayer

"A Return to Love"

Come to me

atixid

Song from Bob Dylan - I like

Collection - I

“The good is one thing; the pleasant is another. These two, differing in their ends, both prompt to action. Blessed are they that choose the good; they that choose the pleasant miss the goal.”–Katha Upanishad 1:2:1

I hope that our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us that the less we use our power the greater it will be.

Twenty Special Secrets

SOME REAL PEARLS...

Subsidy by Shankar Acharya

From Jiddu - Pleasure always brings pain;

subsidy by shankar acharya

The Purpose of Life is a LIFE OF PURPOSE

A View About Life

Elephant and Fly

An Employer's Consciousness

The Rules of Being Human

I feared by UNKNOWN

You Never Know by Sri Sri

Part 6: Friendly Conclusion ( final)

Part 5:- As it is in US

Part 4: P Chidambaram and BJP

Part3 :101 Basic current economies

Part2 : Why I disagreed with My Friend

Part1: Angst with a close friend

Fragrance of love

Wisdom

One more of my Favorite

Copied from Sulekha - Dimwit

My Friday Story

State has a duty to stop conversions to maintain public order—Justice K.T. Thomas

A Great person

If you want happiness...

M S Swaminathan - Hero

From :- Gitanjali

Mumbai as an IFC

Other side of Micro finance

Awareness

Atham pathinnu Thiruonam

Conceit

A Present

Different Plates!!!!!!

Recipe For Happiness

He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver

Do not injure nor let others injure you

Walk in Peace

My Bicycle

Shekar Kapur poem

Astronomy in olden ages

When your prayer is of laughter and tears, it is a true prayer

Let My Country Awake

Nice poem Link

I used to love the word "system"

Home food

I wrote on my mother

No road is long with a good company

Lover Sun's flower

My Tommy

I did Jogging once

I Dream

Cannes Winners 2007

The Fear of the living

Voice of Swami Vivekananda

nalladhoar veenai seydhae....

Motivated by ....

In Love

Miserly pleasure

Silence of Peace

I want this post so it will inspire forever

Discovery

Everything and Everyone

Behold My Mango

“The good is one thing; the pleasant is another. These two, differing in their ends, both prompt to action. Blessed are they that choose the good; they that choose the pleasant miss the goal.”
–Katha Upanishad 1:2:1