"Amol Palekar's Paheli has just been selected as India's official entry for the 2006 Oscars.
The other films considered for the nomination were Mangal Pandey, Veer-Zaara, Iqbal, Swades, Parineeta, Page 3, Black, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, Sachein (Tamil), Anniyan (Telugu), Uttarayan (Marathi), Achuvante Anna (Malayalam), Graham (Telugu), and Kadal (Tamil)."
http://www.rediff.com/movies/2005/sep/26paheli.htm
Sachein ???
What the f**k?
Who shortlisted these movies? Where the hell did Sachein come from ?
Oh you intelligent guys!
No wonder our movies have never won an oscar.
Friday, September 30, 2005
Thursday, September 29, 2005
I just noticed that in the last few weeks my hair is falling at an alarming rate. At this rate, in few months, I guess I will be having the hair style of Andre Agassi :)
Looking back I came up with three reasons.
1. I stopped eating meat (sudden cutback in protein)
2. Changed shampoo and conditioner
3. Reduced taking a multivitamin to one third
I think No 1 is the main reason. But Iam not sure.
I talked to my personal beautician about this and she suggested the following.
1. Drink karuvapalai juice
2. Eat goose berry (Nelli kai)
3. Eat a lot of keerai
4. Use the white of an egg bfore u shampoo ur hairdoes good for your hair
5. Eat dates
I wish all the above was mixed and made into a tablet :)
Looking back I came up with three reasons.
1. I stopped eating meat (sudden cutback in protein)
2. Changed shampoo and conditioner
3. Reduced taking a multivitamin to one third
I think No 1 is the main reason. But Iam not sure.
I talked to my personal beautician about this and she suggested the following.
1. Drink karuvapalai juice
2. Eat goose berry (Nelli kai)
3. Eat a lot of keerai
4. Use the white of an egg bfore u shampoo ur hairdoes good for your hair
5. Eat dates
I wish all the above was mixed and made into a tablet :)
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
"In modern times, no educated man should expect Tamil songs to be in Tamil" - Vimal Natarajan 2005 A.D.
Note: eh...for those who want to protest, you are advised to come after 6.00 pm or during weekends....or....you will just be shouting at an empty house.
Monday, September 26, 2005
Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher marries
"Actors Demi Moore 42, and Ashton Kutcher 27, have married, capping their celebrated two-year-long older-woman, younger-man relationship."
CNN Article
Just last week Renee Zellweger and Kenny Chesney split, after a short four month married life. In fact they will have their four-month-old marriage annulled.
Let's see how long Demi and Ashton go.
I bet they won't last for 1 year.
Anyone wants to bet against me?
CNN Article
Just last week Renee Zellweger and Kenny Chesney split, after a short four month married life. In fact they will have their four-month-old marriage annulled.
Let's see how long Demi and Ashton go.
I bet they won't last for 1 year.
Anyone wants to bet against me?
Here's your moment of Zen
"Initial claims of the al-Qaeda raid later proved unimpressive. The captured fighters, described as important figures and foreigners, turned out to be Afghans.
The army could not even tell us if they were Taleban and did not produce them for us to see.
And the al-Qaeda base that had been destroyed turned out to be the compound of a madrassa or religious school that has been raided several times. "
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
The army could not even tell us if they were Taleban and did not produce them for us to see.
And the al-Qaeda base that had been destroyed turned out to be the compound of a madrassa or religious school that has been raided several times. "
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
Kushboo temples demolished
Activists from political parties have demolished Kushboo Temples... some of them as old as 15 years.
Long time supporters KMK (Kushboo Makkal Katchi) and KJP(Kushboo Janatha Party) have vowed to build the temples again at the disputed site.
On other news, Saravana Bhavan has stopped serving 'Kushboo Idlis' from today.
They said they will now be offering 'Jothika Idlis' and 'Simran Idlis',...the thin version.
The representatives of Annapoorna could not be contacted at this time.
Long time supporters KMK (Kushboo Makkal Katchi) and KJP(Kushboo Janatha Party) have vowed to build the temples again at the disputed site.
On other news, Saravana Bhavan has stopped serving 'Kushboo Idlis' from today.
They said they will now be offering 'Jothika Idlis' and 'Simran Idlis',...the thin version.
The representatives of Annapoorna could not be contacted at this time.
Woman can indulge in pre-marital sex: Kushboo
"The actor is now caught in the eye of a storm for reportedly stating that women could indulge in pre-marital sex provided safe measures were followed to prevent pregnancy.
Later, she justified her statement by saying that no educated man could expect his partner to be a virgin.
Some political parties like the PMK, BJP and the Dalit Panthers of India have taken umbrage over the statement that they see as promoting licentious relations.
Significantly, the main political parties - AIADMK, DMK and Congress - have remained mum on the issue."
mmmm...that's because half the men politicians in AIADMK, DMK and Congress are uneducated and the rest ...eh...don't have to feel guilty now.
www.newindpress.com
Later, she justified her statement by saying that no educated man could expect his partner to be a virgin.
Some political parties like the PMK, BJP and the Dalit Panthers of India have taken umbrage over the statement that they see as promoting licentious relations.
Significantly, the main political parties - AIADMK, DMK and Congress - have remained mum on the issue."
mmmm...that's because half the men politicians in AIADMK, DMK and Congress are uneducated and the rest ...eh...don't have to feel guilty now.
www.newindpress.com
"No educated man could expect his partner to be a virgin" - Tamil actress Kushboo 2005
Moooooooom...Daaaaaad...Why did you send me to school?
Sunday, September 25, 2005
I got a lot of calls and email from dear ones asking about Hurricane Rita. Fortunately, Virginia was spared. Thanks for all those.
It was second time that a second hurricane devastated the gulf within a span of 2 weeks.
Unfortunately, my aunt,uncle and their kids who were living in Houston was asked to evacuate. They were seriously plyboarding their windows, and sticking duct tapes to the glass windows so that they won't shatter. But after seeing the plight of other evacuvees who were stuck in Highway I-45 , they decided that they will stay back home.
In the end it turned out to be a wise decision. As the hurricane was downgraded from Category 5 to Category 3 when it made landfall, the impact on Houston and surrounding areas was very minimal. Unfortunately the levees broke again in New Orleans flooding them again.
I also saw the movie Sishya, starring Karthik and Roshini. It was an old movie. I thought Roshini looked beautiful. I liked her the most among all 3 sisters, Nagma, Jothika including.
I also rented a tamil DVD after a long time. I saw 'Ullam Ketkumay'.
It love story. hmmm...
After coming to US and seeing the culture here...well...one can see the difference when it comes to love.
The way the love is proposed is so different in India and US.
Its surprising that guys in India are still the same. Hesitating to say their love to the girl and giving love letters and cards. It all looks so funny to see now.
But the love itself seems to be the same across the world.
When it comes to relationship, while the guy usually looks at the beauty of the girl, the girl actually looks at so many different things.
The movie itself was good I thought, except for some sentimental dialogues and scenes.
It was second time that a second hurricane devastated the gulf within a span of 2 weeks.
Unfortunately, my aunt,uncle and their kids who were living in Houston was asked to evacuate. They were seriously plyboarding their windows, and sticking duct tapes to the glass windows so that they won't shatter. But after seeing the plight of other evacuvees who were stuck in Highway I-45 , they decided that they will stay back home.
In the end it turned out to be a wise decision. As the hurricane was downgraded from Category 5 to Category 3 when it made landfall, the impact on Houston and surrounding areas was very minimal. Unfortunately the levees broke again in New Orleans flooding them again.
I also saw the movie Sishya, starring Karthik and Roshini. It was an old movie. I thought Roshini looked beautiful. I liked her the most among all 3 sisters, Nagma, Jothika including.
I also rented a tamil DVD after a long time. I saw 'Ullam Ketkumay'.
It love story. hmmm...
After coming to US and seeing the culture here...well...one can see the difference when it comes to love.
The way the love is proposed is so different in India and US.
Its surprising that guys in India are still the same. Hesitating to say their love to the girl and giving love letters and cards. It all looks so funny to see now.
But the love itself seems to be the same across the world.
When it comes to relationship, while the guy usually looks at the beauty of the girl, the girl actually looks at so many different things.
The movie itself was good I thought, except for some sentimental dialogues and scenes.
Greg Chappell, Sourav Ganguly and BCCI
Alright.
We now have the text of email that Greg Chappell mailed to BCCI...which by the way, now stands for Board of Cricket Controversy in India.
We are now waiting for a rebuttal from Sourav Ganguly.
I, have always admired the captaincy of Sourav. I believe that he was one of the best captains India ever had. He was aggressive and confident. He knew what he was doing.
But watching him and the events unfolding around him last 2 weeks, I guess Chappell is right when he says Sourav is mentally not fit to lead the team.
One can easily come to the conclusion by watching what Sourav has been doing and talking last 2 weeks.
He really looks like he has lost the confidence in himself and his decisions. The way he handled this whole issue was also immature.
After all this, I think it is time for him to step down from captaincy, or if he doesn't want to do that, move on.
I am not sure if Rahul is a good replacement as a captain, as his records as a captain doesn't seem to impress that much.
But saying that, there is also an allegation that Harbhajan Singh, was asked to underperform under Rahul's captaincy.
Now that is very interesting. We don't know if its true and if so, who else was asked to underperform under Rahul's captaincy.
If that is true, then no wonder India did not perform well under Rahul's captaincy. Poor Rahul.
If true, then its only fair to give Rahul another chance.
We now have the text of email that Greg Chappell mailed to BCCI...which by the way, now stands for Board of Cricket Controversy in India.
We are now waiting for a rebuttal from Sourav Ganguly.
I, have always admired the captaincy of Sourav. I believe that he was one of the best captains India ever had. He was aggressive and confident. He knew what he was doing.
But watching him and the events unfolding around him last 2 weeks, I guess Chappell is right when he says Sourav is mentally not fit to lead the team.
One can easily come to the conclusion by watching what Sourav has been doing and talking last 2 weeks.
He really looks like he has lost the confidence in himself and his decisions. The way he handled this whole issue was also immature.
After all this, I think it is time for him to step down from captaincy, or if he doesn't want to do that, move on.
I am not sure if Rahul is a good replacement as a captain, as his records as a captain doesn't seem to impress that much.
But saying that, there is also an allegation that Harbhajan Singh, was asked to underperform under Rahul's captaincy.
Now that is very interesting. We don't know if its true and if so, who else was asked to underperform under Rahul's captaincy.
If that is true, then no wonder India did not perform well under Rahul's captaincy. Poor Rahul.
If true, then its only fair to give Rahul another chance.
IAEA resolution against Iran : Where does India stand ?
Something very interesting happened over the weekend.
I hope you all must have read the proposed India-Iran natural gas pipeline project through Pakistan.
India was about to go ahead with this project ignoring US interests. This, in fact, after the increased India-US relationships since the Bush administration. Bush also had agreed to give co-operation in nuclear energy technologies, including help with the construction of nuclear plants.
Even after that, India was in favor of the Iran gas pipeline project, which had 'disappointed' US. Condoleeza Rice, when she came to India talked about it. When Manmohan visited US, Bush talked about it.
India had insisted that it needs energy to sustain the current growth rate and said it is going ahead with Iran pipeline project.
But now, an IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) resolution drafted by European Union's 3 biggest powers - France, Britain and Germany, and backed by US was adopted by IAEA.
The resolution requires Iran to be reported to the security council over a failure to convince the agency that its nuclear program was entirely peaceful.
22 votes was passed in favor of the resolution, 12(including Russia, China and South Africa) abstained and 1(Venezuela) voted against it.
Now comes the interesting part.
India, which had opposed the resolution, voted in favor of it this weekend.
This has surprised many.
Analysts speculate that India voted in favor, due to US pressure and not to jeopardize the relation with US.
India disagrees that their decision is in no way connected to the nuclear deal with US.
Iran officials say they will review the decisions taken by India and South Korea.
The next few days will be interesting to watch on this issue.
Pakistan on the other hand abstained from voting.
Countries who voted in favor of the resolution:
United States, Australia, Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Argentina, Belgium, Ghana, Ecuador, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Slovakia, Japan, Peru, Singapore, South Korea, and India
Countries who abstained from voting:
Pakistan, Algeria, Yemen, Brazil, China, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, and Vietnam
Countries who voted against:
Venezuela
The above 35 countries are the IAEA board members for 2004-2005.
I hope you all must have read the proposed India-Iran natural gas pipeline project through Pakistan.
India was about to go ahead with this project ignoring US interests. This, in fact, after the increased India-US relationships since the Bush administration. Bush also had agreed to give co-operation in nuclear energy technologies, including help with the construction of nuclear plants.
Even after that, India was in favor of the Iran gas pipeline project, which had 'disappointed' US. Condoleeza Rice, when she came to India talked about it. When Manmohan visited US, Bush talked about it.
India had insisted that it needs energy to sustain the current growth rate and said it is going ahead with Iran pipeline project.
But now, an IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) resolution drafted by European Union's 3 biggest powers - France, Britain and Germany, and backed by US was adopted by IAEA.
The resolution requires Iran to be reported to the security council over a failure to convince the agency that its nuclear program was entirely peaceful.
22 votes was passed in favor of the resolution, 12(including Russia, China and South Africa) abstained and 1(Venezuela) voted against it.
Now comes the interesting part.
India, which had opposed the resolution, voted in favor of it this weekend.
This has surprised many.
Analysts speculate that India voted in favor, due to US pressure and not to jeopardize the relation with US.
India disagrees that their decision is in no way connected to the nuclear deal with US.
Iran officials say they will review the decisions taken by India and South Korea.
The next few days will be interesting to watch on this issue.
Pakistan on the other hand abstained from voting.
Countries who voted in favor of the resolution:
United States, Australia, Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Argentina, Belgium, Ghana, Ecuador, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Slovakia, Japan, Peru, Singapore, South Korea, and India
Countries who abstained from voting:
Pakistan, Algeria, Yemen, Brazil, China, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, and Vietnam
Countries who voted against:
Venezuela
The above 35 countries are the IAEA board members for 2004-2005.
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Thursday, September 22, 2005
This is how guys get screwed
"The former mistress of convicted murderer Scott Peterson is back in the spotlight after a DNA test showed that her first child was not fathered by the man who was paying child support."
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/21/amber.frey.ap/index.html
"Frey's attorney, Gloria Allred, said Wednesday that her client never intended to deceive Flores.
"Amber, in good faith, always believed that Mr. Flores was her child's father," Allred said."
Yeah...Right!
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/21/amber.frey.ap/index.html
"Frey's attorney, Gloria Allred, said Wednesday that her client never intended to deceive Flores.
"Amber, in good faith, always believed that Mr. Flores was her child's father," Allred said."
Yeah...Right!
What the heck is gowin on?
Well....you can find it out yourself from here.
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/
Buoy's, which are floating sensors in the middle of ocean, measure sea conditions round the clock.
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=42001
This is one such buoy in Gulf Coast, currently under the influence of Hurricane Rita. Look at the wave height. 34 feet !
And see the wave height graph.
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/
Buoy's, which are floating sensors in the middle of ocean, measure sea conditions round the clock.
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=42001
This is one such buoy in Gulf Coast, currently under the influence of Hurricane Rita. Look at the wave height. 34 feet !
And see the wave height graph.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Today was best of both the worlds. Busy yet Relaxed.
I was very busy at work. Our production date is nearing and we have to wrap development by this week. So I had to work out few minor issues. It was interesting as I got most of it done according to the plan. Hope it continues tomorrow the same way.
Varun is one of my good friends here. Very cool guy. Later in the evening, Varun and I decided to get together for dinner at 'Tara Thai'. This is a relatively new Thai Restaurant. Their food is awesome. It's the best Thai food in Richmond , I would say. As I am a vegetarian, I had to order Vegetable Fried Rice. Usually whenever Saravanan and I go there, we order Chicken Fried Rice. Fortunately, the Vegetable version turned out better than the Chicken. Both Varun and I had it very spicy. It was good to have it with the 'Singha'.
I was very busy at work. Our production date is nearing and we have to wrap development by this week. So I had to work out few minor issues. It was interesting as I got most of it done according to the plan. Hope it continues tomorrow the same way.
Varun is one of my good friends here. Very cool guy. Later in the evening, Varun and I decided to get together for dinner at 'Tara Thai'. This is a relatively new Thai Restaurant. Their food is awesome. It's the best Thai food in Richmond , I would say. As I am a vegetarian, I had to order Vegetable Fried Rice. Usually whenever Saravanan and I go there, we order Chicken Fried Rice. Fortunately, the Vegetable version turned out better than the Chicken. Both Varun and I had it very spicy. It was good to have it with the 'Singha'.
Monday, September 19, 2005
This weekend I went to the movie 'March of the Penguins' . I have one word to describe the movie. 'Very Beautiful'. Yeah, I know what you are saying. It's two words. I know. But I think it deserves it. It's a story of love and survival fighting the most powerful force, Mother Nature.
The movie is so funny, right from the beginning, where the male penguins walk like 70 miles to have sex. OK, I shouldn't say sex. But walk 70 miles to find a partner and have courtship. Then the struggles they go through fighting against nature, and having chicks and finally it is so cute when the chicks are on their own.
I think this movie is a must see.
Then Sunday, after long time, I went to Sudarshan Kriya, Art of Living.
I introduced Dixita to this Art of Living and she is now more involved and regular than me. It's kinda little embarassing for me there..,but you know...it happens. Later in the evening Dixita and I watched 'Finding Neverland'. It was a good movie too.
Yesterday was also my 21st day as a vegetarian. Iam amazed how I can be a vegetarian for such a long time and still not miss meat.
The movie is so funny, right from the beginning, where the male penguins walk like 70 miles to have sex. OK, I shouldn't say sex. But walk 70 miles to find a partner and have courtship. Then the struggles they go through fighting against nature, and having chicks and finally it is so cute when the chicks are on their own.
I think this movie is a must see.
Then Sunday, after long time, I went to Sudarshan Kriya, Art of Living.
I introduced Dixita to this Art of Living and she is now more involved and regular than me. It's kinda little embarassing for me there..,but you know...it happens. Later in the evening Dixita and I watched 'Finding Neverland'. It was a good movie too.
Yesterday was also my 21st day as a vegetarian. Iam amazed how I can be a vegetarian for such a long time and still not miss meat.
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Distorting history : Impossible?
One of my readers, after reading my Trilogy on India (I, II, III), argued that it cannot be true.
He was arguing based on a fact, everything that happened few hundred years before 800 A.D. was well documented. It’s so recent in history was his point.
Well…this is the fact.
When something is documented, it means, something is written down or printed somewhere.
The world’s first printing press was invented in 1454, by Johannes Gutenberg. Of course 1454 A.D.
Going back in history, we find that the Chinese actually experimented with printing technology in 1040, but only to discard it later.
Going further back in history, before the movable type printers were invented, we learn that the Chinese used wooden blocks to print Buddhist writings by hand, on scrolls, in the 9th Century. While there are no surviving examples of the Chinese printing presses of the 11th Century, the oldest surviving printed book on record is the Buddhist Diamond-Sutra of 868 AD.
So, before that period, it’s very clear that the only way to document was writing down by hand.
When scriptures were written down by hand, it is highly likely that only 1 or 2 copies were written down. Only several years later, copies would have been made, or rather written down by hand again, until the invention of printing press or rather until the introduction of printing press in ancient India.
Taking the above into consideration, I believe that one cannot rule out the fact that while making the copies, writing them by hand, one can easily interpolate.
So arguing based on the fact that anything happened before 800 A.D. is well documented is really not a strong point to rebut.
Also, in my opinion, history can be easily distorted; even today, in a world which is connected by telephone, television, radio, media, Internet etc.
Considering how our ancestors communicated 1200 years ago, hey, you must be kidding if you think it’s impossible to distort history.
He was arguing based on a fact, everything that happened few hundred years before 800 A.D. was well documented. It’s so recent in history was his point.
Well…this is the fact.
When something is documented, it means, something is written down or printed somewhere.
The world’s first printing press was invented in 1454, by Johannes Gutenberg. Of course 1454 A.D.
Going back in history, we find that the Chinese actually experimented with printing technology in 1040, but only to discard it later.
Going further back in history, before the movable type printers were invented, we learn that the Chinese used wooden blocks to print Buddhist writings by hand, on scrolls, in the 9th Century. While there are no surviving examples of the Chinese printing presses of the 11th Century, the oldest surviving printed book on record is the Buddhist Diamond-Sutra of 868 AD.
So, before that period, it’s very clear that the only way to document was writing down by hand.
When scriptures were written down by hand, it is highly likely that only 1 or 2 copies were written down. Only several years later, copies would have been made, or rather written down by hand again, until the invention of printing press or rather until the introduction of printing press in ancient India.
Taking the above into consideration, I believe that one cannot rule out the fact that while making the copies, writing them by hand, one can easily interpolate.
So arguing based on the fact that anything happened before 800 A.D. is well documented is really not a strong point to rebut.
Also, in my opinion, history can be easily distorted; even today, in a world which is connected by telephone, television, radio, media, Internet etc.
Considering how our ancestors communicated 1200 years ago, hey, you must be kidding if you think it’s impossible to distort history.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
This weekend I saw lot of movies. Dixita and I went to a movie 'Red Eye'. It was an ok movie. Not bad, in my opinion.
Then after the movie she wanted to go to this Japanese Restaurant 'Osaka Sushi'.
Since both of us were vegetarians, and as she had been there before I let her to decide what to order. She ordered Tofu Teriyaki and she recommended Vegetable Tempura for me.
Then we also ordered a Japanese Drink called 'Hot Sake', which is a wine made of rice.
The Tofu Teriyaki was really awesome, I liked it better than Vegetable Tempura. Vegetable Tempura was more like our 'Bajji & Bonda'. It's basically vegetables, spinach, battered and deep fried. One of the vegetable was actually banana. I remember when I went to Kerala I had something exactly similar. I think it was a banana battered and deep fried and the taste was almost exactly the same.
The sake was really good. As it was little hot/warm I guess it will make a good drink for Richmond's winter evenings.
I saw many movies that I had recorded in my DVD recorder. All of them Western movies. I saw 'Billy the Kid', 'The Magnificent Seven', '3:10 to Yuma' and 'Nevada Smith'. I would say all were good, but Nevada Smith was my favorite, followed by Magnificent seven and 3:10 to yuma.
I also watched the movie 'Oruvan' in Sun TV. Pooja Bhatra is very pretty. She has class. I always liked her. She is tall too.
I then cooked some potato fry and Bengan Bartha, an eggplant dish.
Preethi, if you are reading this, you are invited to my home to have some eggplant ;)
For those who don't know what eggplant is, it's nothing but brinjal. In America, brinjal is called as eggplant.
Saturday was very good as I had my massage and reiki. My masseuse, Jill, is a blonde with beautiful green eyes. She is a very sweet person. She talks a lot unlike other masseuse. She is more towards eastern philosophy. She talks about chi, yin and yang, prana, spices etc. She explains everything she does. It was my first reiki session with her. I felt so good during and after that session.
I tried White Iced Tea from Ellwood Thompson. White Tea is supposed to be very good for health, packed with antioxidants. I liked it very much. Have to buy some more. The actual reason why I tried it in first place is different :)
Iam waiting to watch Adhu Mattum Ragasiyam in Sun TV. That serial has grabbed my attention a lot. Very good story, screenplay and direction.
Then after the movie she wanted to go to this Japanese Restaurant 'Osaka Sushi'.
Since both of us were vegetarians, and as she had been there before I let her to decide what to order. She ordered Tofu Teriyaki and she recommended Vegetable Tempura for me.
Then we also ordered a Japanese Drink called 'Hot Sake', which is a wine made of rice.
The Tofu Teriyaki was really awesome, I liked it better than Vegetable Tempura. Vegetable Tempura was more like our 'Bajji & Bonda'. It's basically vegetables, spinach, battered and deep fried. One of the vegetable was actually banana. I remember when I went to Kerala I had something exactly similar. I think it was a banana battered and deep fried and the taste was almost exactly the same.
The sake was really good. As it was little hot/warm I guess it will make a good drink for Richmond's winter evenings.
I saw many movies that I had recorded in my DVD recorder. All of them Western movies. I saw 'Billy the Kid', 'The Magnificent Seven', '3:10 to Yuma' and 'Nevada Smith'. I would say all were good, but Nevada Smith was my favorite, followed by Magnificent seven and 3:10 to yuma.
I also watched the movie 'Oruvan' in Sun TV. Pooja Bhatra is very pretty. She has class. I always liked her. She is tall too.
I then cooked some potato fry and Bengan Bartha, an eggplant dish.
Preethi, if you are reading this, you are invited to my home to have some eggplant ;)
For those who don't know what eggplant is, it's nothing but brinjal. In America, brinjal is called as eggplant.
Saturday was very good as I had my massage and reiki. My masseuse, Jill, is a blonde with beautiful green eyes. She is a very sweet person. She talks a lot unlike other masseuse. She is more towards eastern philosophy. She talks about chi, yin and yang, prana, spices etc. She explains everything she does. It was my first reiki session with her. I felt so good during and after that session.
I tried White Iced Tea from Ellwood Thompson. White Tea is supposed to be very good for health, packed with antioxidants. I liked it very much. Have to buy some more. The actual reason why I tried it in first place is different :)
Iam waiting to watch Adhu Mattum Ragasiyam in Sun TV. That serial has grabbed my attention a lot. Very good story, screenplay and direction.
Aaahhh Preethi, no more questions ok.
Seven things you plan to do before you die!!
1. Get Lost in an Island with the 'special' someone
2. Fly a fighter aircraft
3. Live in a submarine
4. Work in a Cargo Ship
5. Make movies
6. Become a political leader
7. Realize the Truth
Seven things you can do!!
1. Talk
2. Bold
3. Smile
4. Cook
5. Make someone laugh
6. Love
7. **** ****
Seven things you can't do!!!
1. Lie
2. Not talk
3. Not wink
4. Not smile
5. Not plan
6. Come up with the 7th point
7.
Seven things that attract you to the opposite sex!!
1. Blonde Hair
2. Brunette
3. Green Eyes
4. Smile
5. Funny
6. Innocence
7. ****** Preethi, do you remember how you described Keerthi Reddy when I showed you that picture ;)
Seven things you say most!!!
1. Howz it goin?
2. Hi there
3. Kick Ass
4. Super Awesome
5. Sweet
6. Cool
7. Alrighty
8. What the f**k was that? (Where the hell did this 8th point come from?)
Seven celebrity crushes!!!
1. Gillian Anderson
2. Kirsten Dunst
3. Natalie Portman
4. Kate Winslet
5. Reese Witherspoon
6. Nadhiya
7. Reema Sen
7. G - Can't say, only Initial, sorry ;)
7. S - Can't say, only Initial, sorry ;)
One person who asked me to take this quiz..
1. Preethi
1. Get Lost in an Island with the 'special' someone
2. Fly a fighter aircraft
3. Live in a submarine
4. Work in a Cargo Ship
5. Make movies
6. Become a political leader
7. Realize the Truth
Seven things you can do!!
1. Talk
2. Bold
3. Smile
4. Cook
5. Make someone laugh
6. Love
7. **** ****
Seven things you can't do!!!
1. Lie
2. Not talk
3. Not wink
4. Not smile
5. Not plan
6. Come up with the 7th point
7.
Seven things that attract you to the opposite sex!!
1. Blonde Hair
2. Brunette
3. Green Eyes
4. Smile
5. Funny
6. Innocence
7. ****** Preethi, do you remember how you described Keerthi Reddy when I showed you that picture ;)
Seven things you say most!!!
1. Howz it goin?
2. Hi there
3. Kick Ass
4. Super Awesome
5. Sweet
6. Cool
7. Alrighty
8. What the f**k was that? (Where the hell did this 8th point come from?)
Seven celebrity crushes!!!
1. Gillian Anderson
2. Kirsten Dunst
3. Natalie Portman
4. Kate Winslet
5. Reese Witherspoon
6. Nadhiya
7. Reema Sen
7. G - Can't say, only Initial, sorry ;)
7. S - Can't say, only Initial, sorry ;)
One person who asked me to take this quiz..
1. Preethi
Friday, September 09, 2005
Water crisis looms as Himalayan glaciers melt
Scientists say the 40 percent of humanity living in South Asia and China could well be living with little drinking water within 50 years as global warming melts Himalayan glaciers, the region's main water source.
Tulsi Maya, a farmer on the outskirts of Kathmandu, has never heard of global warming or its impact on the rivers in the Himalayan kingdom, but she does know that the flow of water has gone down.
"Maybe God is unkind and sends less water in the river. The flow of water is decreasing every year," she said standing by her grandson, Milan Dangol, who weeds the crop.
CNN Article Today (Sep 9, 2005)
This is exactly what my previous blogs were talking about.
Though the farmer today is in India-Nepal border, I guess it speaks for the thought-pattern generally.
"God is unkind"
We blame God for our suffering. We believe Man cannot change or solve this problem.
It's good to see things are changing(ISRO scientists) at last.
Tulsi Maya, a farmer on the outskirts of Kathmandu, has never heard of global warming or its impact on the rivers in the Himalayan kingdom, but she does know that the flow of water has gone down.
"Maybe God is unkind and sends less water in the river. The flow of water is decreasing every year," she said standing by her grandson, Milan Dangol, who weeds the crop.
CNN Article Today (Sep 9, 2005)
This is exactly what my previous blogs were talking about.
Though the farmer today is in India-Nepal border, I guess it speaks for the thought-pattern generally.
"God is unkind"
We blame God for our suffering. We believe Man cannot change or solve this problem.
It's good to see things are changing(ISRO scientists) at last.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
India - The True India
I don’t believe in coincidences.
I believe that everything happens for a reason. Sometimes we find the reason immediately, sometimes after few hours, few days or months. In fact, I have seen the reason after several years. Maybe it all involves Karma.
I was a big fan of Bhagavad Gita. I have 3 books, translations by different people, on Bhagavad Gita. I have also downloaded, bookmarked several sites in Internet translation by different people. I’ve read all these in bits and pieces. But never was I able to complete the whole of any version.
I always used to wonder why!
I used to convince myself that maybe it’s too long and I have to split it into several sessions but was never able to do so.
Maybe I just found an answer for that too.
Bhagavad Gita.
The sound you hear when you say the above, is by itself so powerful.
The Bible of the Hindus.
The Truth is…
The Bhagavad Gita that we have now is NOT the original Bhagavad Gita.
In fact the original, written by Sage Vyasa, was called simply ‘Gita’.
That was the shocking revelation that I had recently.
The present day Bhagavad Gita has 700 verses.
The original Gita has 84 verses.
Yes, you heard it right.
Just 84 verses.
So what happened?
Around 800 A.D. , the original Gita was interpolated and ended up having 700 verses. The name was changed from Gita to Bhagavad Gita. The concept of one single Almighty God, or Supreme, Bhagavan, was introduced to Indian society.
Till then, before 800 A.D., Indians believed in God. But they believed in polytheism. They were also nature worshippers. They worshipped earth, stone, trees, rain, wind, fire, sun, moon etc.
One of my friend mentioned that evidence suggested that the civilizations in Harappa and Mohenjadaro worshipped Gods in idol form. Yes, that’s right. What happened in 800 A.D. was something unique.
One God, One Supreme Being, was introduced to India. This idea was mainly borrowed from Christianity and Islam.
The Mahabharata that we have now is also not the original.
The original epic had only 8,800 verses and its name was 'Jaya' (Victory). It was expanded to 24,000 verses and its name was changed to Jaya Bharata and then to Bharatetihas. At a much later time, the epic was expanded to 100,000 verses and got its present name, Mahabharata.
Upanishads suffered the same fate.
India before 800 A.D. according to the author, the Real India was this.
“India prior to 800 A.D. produced philosophers and writers who accepted Man as the Supreme Being. They talked abut two main entities: Purusha (Man) and Prakriti (Nature). Change in these two entities occurs due to the ever-present and everlasting work of three Gunas-Rajas, Tamas, and Sattva. Ignorance, lack of proper knowledge and improper action cause dukha (sorrow or unhappiness). Man can liberate himself from dukha and attain sukha (happiness) by acquiring proper knowledge, mastering certain teachings, following certain practices, and by working according to the Samkhya-yoga theory of action.”
India was never conquered before 800 A.D.
Yes, there were some incursions at the border. Persian and Greek invaders came to India. But they were only able to conquer the borders. They were never able to make inroads into India and conquer it. They never crossed Sind, in present day Pakistan.
All this changed after 800 A.D.
The author adds…
“The story of how Brahmans helped the invading Arabs in their conquest of Sind is a treacherous history. We get a very vivid account of the Arabs' incursions and their subsequent conquest of Sind through a book entitles Chachnamah, written by Ali Kufi (of Kufah, Syria) in 1216 A.D. The book was first translated into Persian from Arabic, and was translated into English by Mirza Kalichbeg Fredunbeg in 1900.
According to Chachnamah, Buddhism was the dominant religion in Sind during the seventh century A.D. There were Buddhist temples and monasteries located all over Sind. The Buddhists and Brahmans lived in amity. The various principalities and their rulers were under the king of Sind, Rai Sahira, a Kshatriya. This kingdom fell into the hands of his chief, Chach, who ruled for many years. After the death of Chach, his son, Dahar (Dahir) became king. It was during his reign that the Arabs conquered Sind.
The Arabs began invading portions of Sind during the 640s. According to the Chachnamah, during the reign of Caliph Umar (634-643) "an army of Islam was first sent out to different parts of Hind and Sind, to carry on religious war there." But every attack of the Arabs was thwarted, their forces destroyed, and the leader killed. Their condition changed abruptly, however, when they began receiving support from the Brahmans. The Brahmans had always occupied the high administrative posts before and after Chach. They began helping the Arabs by acting as their informers, by preaching a philosophy of surrender; by predicting victory of Islam and defeat of the local ruler; and by working as an advance-party of the invading Arabs. Let me give an example of how a Brahman's support to Arabs at Debal (a small principality in Sind) provided them with their victory in Sind.
The Arabs had invaded Debal in 711 A.D. under the command of Muhammad Kasim (also called Muhammed Ibin Qasim). They had fought for eight days without making any gains. Since Debal was a fortified city, the Arabs had encamped nearby and were waging war from their camps, without success.
In the heart of the city of Debal, there was a Buddhist temple with a high dome. On that dome, there was a high pole from which a huge flag was hoisted. This flag worked as a talisman (symbol). It meant that as long as the flag continued to be displayed, the people would be victorious. Inspired by this flag, the people and the army fought bravely, and for eight days the Arabs were held in check. On the ninth day of the battle, while the Arab army was besieging Debal, a surprising event happened.
"All of a sudden, then, a Brahmin (Brahman) came forth from the garrison, and cried for mercy. He said, "May the just governor live long!" We have learnt from our science of the stars that the country of Sind will be conquered by the army of Islam, and the infidels will be put to flight. But be it known to you that the standard of the idol-house (temple) ,yonder, is a talisman. As long as that standard of that temple stands in its place, it is impossible for the fort to be taken by you. You must, therefore, try your best to blow off the dome of this temple, and break its flag-staff into pieces. Then only your success will be complete."
After hearing the secret of the temple, the commander of the Arab army, Muhammad Kasim, called his engineer, Jaubat Salmi, and offered him a reward for devising a means of blowing off the dome of the temple. The next day, the Arabs destroyed the dome and the flag of the temple. The fall of the flag meant the fall of the Debalese people.
After the dome was demolished, the Arab army entered the temple and the fort without a fight. The people surrendered, the idol in the temple was removed, and a mosque was established. The Arabs had won their first victory, and they now knew who their collaborators would be. As a result, when Muhammad Kasim marched from one place to another, he had easy victories. And finally, he was able to conquer all of Sind.
Though the Islamic invaders had been trying to expand their rule to other parts of India, they were vigorously resisted by rulers outside Sind. It took them about 200 years to finally expand into other parts of India. It took them another 300 years to capture the whole of northern and western India and a part of South India. The invaders, no doubt impressed by the strength of the resistance, looked to Indian culture and philosophy as the likely source of this strength. This power to resist sprang from the tradition of rational philosophy, which had taught Indians to act and fight for their rights. Unless a change was brought about which would weaken their resistance, Islamic faith and power could not subdue and defeat the Indians.”
Why did all this happen?
Why were the scriptures distorted?
According to the author, these happened for 2 reasons mainly.
The Brahmans wanted to maintain supremacy over the other castes and also have a major hold in the social and political front.
So they modified the scriptures, glorifying the caste system, increasing its rigidity in practice in the society.
They also wanted a concept of one single Almighty, one Supreme Being, to fight or resist the spread of other monotheistic religions like Christianity, Judaism and Islam. So Brahman, the Supreme Being was introduced. The concept of Heaven and Hell was also introduced.
Inaction was glorified. From Man being the Supreme Being, God became the Supreme Being. Man could only do what fate could dictate. This world was described as a place of suffering. Man’s only objective in life was just to be liberated from the cycles of birth and death and reach God in heaven.
So did they suceed in their effort?
Yes, sure they did.
The caste system is still followed in many parts of India rigidly.
The spread of Christianity and Islam was resisted successfully.
We saved our God, but we lost ourself.
This all happened after 800 A.D. .
The author points how Shankaracharya’s Advaita philosophy fueled this monotheistic phenomenon in the society.
India entered the Dark Age at that time.
For the next 1000 years, India was constantly under the attack/rule of foreigners. Indians did not have the attitude to fight the occupation.
The original teachings of Kapila, Patanjali, Buddha, Mahavira etc were distorted.
Our thought-pattern changed from philosophic and scientific one, towards more religious.
The True India was lost.
***
This concludes my Trilogy on India.
I have intentionally left out many facts which I learned from the book. It would definitely be not fair on my part, to say everything in the blog, when all the hard work of extensive research was put by the author.
I will be doing researches on a lot of things mentioned above.
I would strongly recommend my readers to read this book.
This may change your life, or it may not.
You may believe its contents or you may not.
But you sure will have lots of questions.
You sure will want to search for the facts yourself.
In my opinion, ‘The search for Truth begins with search for facts’.
The book :
The Gita As It Was - Rediscovering the Original Bhagavadgita
Phulgenda Sinha
ISBN : 0-8126-9024-9
ISBN : 0-8126-9025-7 (paperback)
Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi never believed in the originality of the present day Bhagavad Gita. Swami Vivekananda was in search of the original Gita (2 original copies are said to be in existence today, in Bali and Sri Lanka). Vivekananda was never able to find the original in his lifetime.
So what is the original Gita?
This is the original Gita.
(Translation by Phulgenda Sinha)
Where does this leave me?
I myself have critiqued many, who don’t believe in God but go to temple to pray.
Iam afraid I might become the one whom I feared.
Have I become the very thing that I dreaded the most?
Have I fallen on the dark side?
Am I Anakin Skywalker?
Or have I become Darth Vader?
I believe that everything happens for a reason. Sometimes we find the reason immediately, sometimes after few hours, few days or months. In fact, I have seen the reason after several years. Maybe it all involves Karma.
I was a big fan of Bhagavad Gita. I have 3 books, translations by different people, on Bhagavad Gita. I have also downloaded, bookmarked several sites in Internet translation by different people. I’ve read all these in bits and pieces. But never was I able to complete the whole of any version.
I always used to wonder why!
I used to convince myself that maybe it’s too long and I have to split it into several sessions but was never able to do so.
Maybe I just found an answer for that too.
Bhagavad Gita.
The sound you hear when you say the above, is by itself so powerful.
The Bible of the Hindus.
The Truth is…
The Bhagavad Gita that we have now is NOT the original Bhagavad Gita.
In fact the original, written by Sage Vyasa, was called simply ‘Gita’.
That was the shocking revelation that I had recently.
The present day Bhagavad Gita has 700 verses.
The original Gita has 84 verses.
Yes, you heard it right.
Just 84 verses.
So what happened?
Around 800 A.D. , the original Gita was interpolated and ended up having 700 verses. The name was changed from Gita to Bhagavad Gita. The concept of one single Almighty God, or Supreme, Bhagavan, was introduced to Indian society.
Till then, before 800 A.D., Indians believed in God. But they believed in polytheism. They were also nature worshippers. They worshipped earth, stone, trees, rain, wind, fire, sun, moon etc.
One of my friend mentioned that evidence suggested that the civilizations in Harappa and Mohenjadaro worshipped Gods in idol form. Yes, that’s right. What happened in 800 A.D. was something unique.
One God, One Supreme Being, was introduced to India. This idea was mainly borrowed from Christianity and Islam.
The Mahabharata that we have now is also not the original.
The original epic had only 8,800 verses and its name was 'Jaya' (Victory). It was expanded to 24,000 verses and its name was changed to Jaya Bharata and then to Bharatetihas. At a much later time, the epic was expanded to 100,000 verses and got its present name, Mahabharata.
Upanishads suffered the same fate.
India before 800 A.D. according to the author, the Real India was this.
“India prior to 800 A.D. produced philosophers and writers who accepted Man as the Supreme Being. They talked abut two main entities: Purusha (Man) and Prakriti (Nature). Change in these two entities occurs due to the ever-present and everlasting work of three Gunas-Rajas, Tamas, and Sattva. Ignorance, lack of proper knowledge and improper action cause dukha (sorrow or unhappiness). Man can liberate himself from dukha and attain sukha (happiness) by acquiring proper knowledge, mastering certain teachings, following certain practices, and by working according to the Samkhya-yoga theory of action.”
India was never conquered before 800 A.D.
Yes, there were some incursions at the border. Persian and Greek invaders came to India. But they were only able to conquer the borders. They were never able to make inroads into India and conquer it. They never crossed Sind, in present day Pakistan.
All this changed after 800 A.D.
The author adds…
“The story of how Brahmans helped the invading Arabs in their conquest of Sind is a treacherous history. We get a very vivid account of the Arabs' incursions and their subsequent conquest of Sind through a book entitles Chachnamah, written by Ali Kufi (of Kufah, Syria) in 1216 A.D. The book was first translated into Persian from Arabic, and was translated into English by Mirza Kalichbeg Fredunbeg in 1900.
According to Chachnamah, Buddhism was the dominant religion in Sind during the seventh century A.D. There were Buddhist temples and monasteries located all over Sind. The Buddhists and Brahmans lived in amity. The various principalities and their rulers were under the king of Sind, Rai Sahira, a Kshatriya. This kingdom fell into the hands of his chief, Chach, who ruled for many years. After the death of Chach, his son, Dahar (Dahir) became king. It was during his reign that the Arabs conquered Sind.
The Arabs began invading portions of Sind during the 640s. According to the Chachnamah, during the reign of Caliph Umar (634-643) "an army of Islam was first sent out to different parts of Hind and Sind, to carry on religious war there." But every attack of the Arabs was thwarted, their forces destroyed, and the leader killed. Their condition changed abruptly, however, when they began receiving support from the Brahmans. The Brahmans had always occupied the high administrative posts before and after Chach. They began helping the Arabs by acting as their informers, by preaching a philosophy of surrender; by predicting victory of Islam and defeat of the local ruler; and by working as an advance-party of the invading Arabs. Let me give an example of how a Brahman's support to Arabs at Debal (a small principality in Sind) provided them with their victory in Sind.
The Arabs had invaded Debal in 711 A.D. under the command of Muhammad Kasim (also called Muhammed Ibin Qasim). They had fought for eight days without making any gains. Since Debal was a fortified city, the Arabs had encamped nearby and were waging war from their camps, without success.
In the heart of the city of Debal, there was a Buddhist temple with a high dome. On that dome, there was a high pole from which a huge flag was hoisted. This flag worked as a talisman (symbol). It meant that as long as the flag continued to be displayed, the people would be victorious. Inspired by this flag, the people and the army fought bravely, and for eight days the Arabs were held in check. On the ninth day of the battle, while the Arab army was besieging Debal, a surprising event happened.
"All of a sudden, then, a Brahmin (Brahman) came forth from the garrison, and cried for mercy. He said, "May the just governor live long!" We have learnt from our science of the stars that the country of Sind will be conquered by the army of Islam, and the infidels will be put to flight. But be it known to you that the standard of the idol-house (temple) ,yonder, is a talisman. As long as that standard of that temple stands in its place, it is impossible for the fort to be taken by you. You must, therefore, try your best to blow off the dome of this temple, and break its flag-staff into pieces. Then only your success will be complete."
After hearing the secret of the temple, the commander of the Arab army, Muhammad Kasim, called his engineer, Jaubat Salmi, and offered him a reward for devising a means of blowing off the dome of the temple. The next day, the Arabs destroyed the dome and the flag of the temple. The fall of the flag meant the fall of the Debalese people.
After the dome was demolished, the Arab army entered the temple and the fort without a fight. The people surrendered, the idol in the temple was removed, and a mosque was established. The Arabs had won their first victory, and they now knew who their collaborators would be. As a result, when Muhammad Kasim marched from one place to another, he had easy victories. And finally, he was able to conquer all of Sind.
Though the Islamic invaders had been trying to expand their rule to other parts of India, they were vigorously resisted by rulers outside Sind. It took them about 200 years to finally expand into other parts of India. It took them another 300 years to capture the whole of northern and western India and a part of South India. The invaders, no doubt impressed by the strength of the resistance, looked to Indian culture and philosophy as the likely source of this strength. This power to resist sprang from the tradition of rational philosophy, which had taught Indians to act and fight for their rights. Unless a change was brought about which would weaken their resistance, Islamic faith and power could not subdue and defeat the Indians.”
Why did all this happen?
Why were the scriptures distorted?
According to the author, these happened for 2 reasons mainly.
The Brahmans wanted to maintain supremacy over the other castes and also have a major hold in the social and political front.
So they modified the scriptures, glorifying the caste system, increasing its rigidity in practice in the society.
They also wanted a concept of one single Almighty, one Supreme Being, to fight or resist the spread of other monotheistic religions like Christianity, Judaism and Islam. So Brahman, the Supreme Being was introduced. The concept of Heaven and Hell was also introduced.
Inaction was glorified. From Man being the Supreme Being, God became the Supreme Being. Man could only do what fate could dictate. This world was described as a place of suffering. Man’s only objective in life was just to be liberated from the cycles of birth and death and reach God in heaven.
So did they suceed in their effort?
Yes, sure they did.
The caste system is still followed in many parts of India rigidly.
The spread of Christianity and Islam was resisted successfully.
We saved our God, but we lost ourself.
This all happened after 800 A.D. .
The author points how Shankaracharya’s Advaita philosophy fueled this monotheistic phenomenon in the society.
India entered the Dark Age at that time.
For the next 1000 years, India was constantly under the attack/rule of foreigners. Indians did not have the attitude to fight the occupation.
The original teachings of Kapila, Patanjali, Buddha, Mahavira etc were distorted.
Our thought-pattern changed from philosophic and scientific one, towards more religious.
The True India was lost.
***
This concludes my Trilogy on India.
I have intentionally left out many facts which I learned from the book. It would definitely be not fair on my part, to say everything in the blog, when all the hard work of extensive research was put by the author.
I will be doing researches on a lot of things mentioned above.
I would strongly recommend my readers to read this book.
This may change your life, or it may not.
You may believe its contents or you may not.
But you sure will have lots of questions.
You sure will want to search for the facts yourself.
In my opinion, ‘The search for Truth begins with search for facts’.
The book :
The Gita As It Was - Rediscovering the Original Bhagavadgita
Phulgenda Sinha
ISBN : 0-8126-9024-9
ISBN : 0-8126-9025-7 (paperback)
Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi never believed in the originality of the present day Bhagavad Gita. Swami Vivekananda was in search of the original Gita (2 original copies are said to be in existence today, in Bali and Sri Lanka). Vivekananda was never able to find the original in his lifetime.
So what is the original Gita?
This is the original Gita.
(Translation by Phulgenda Sinha)
Where does this leave me?
I myself have critiqued many, who don’t believe in God but go to temple to pray.
Iam afraid I might become the one whom I feared.
Have I become the very thing that I dreaded the most?
Have I fallen on the dark side?
Am I Anakin Skywalker?
Or have I become Darth Vader?
Saturday, September 03, 2005
India - The India Today
I came across a book recently.
The book's preface had the following text from the author.
"...there is something basically wrong with the thinking and action of the Indian people."
The author adds...
"I pondered some of the basic facts and problems related to India. Its people are no less intelligent, strong, and healthy than those of other nations. Its climate and natural resources are ideal for national growth and prosperity. The country has the basic technological knowledge for industrial and agricultural excellence. But having all these, why does India remain an impoverished country in which millions cannot eat well, cannot afford shelter, and cannot get adequate education and health services?"
The book that I read was the result of the above question from the author. Since my question was also exactly the same, I was very interested in this book.
The answer the author found was shocking to me.
The concept of a single God as Almighty and Supreme was introduced to India in 800 A.D.
Not Man but God was held to be Supreme.
Man could do only what was predestined by God. There was Heaven and Hell. Man possessed a soul which did not die but was reincarnated according to past and present deeds. The Brahmans were superior to all castes and the word Brahman was synonymous with Brahma and all the divinities.
Christianity and Islam did not borrow concepts and teachings from Hinduism. It was the other way around.
India went through a dramatic change in 800 A.D.
India entered the Dark Ages.
According to the author...
"As is the level of thought in a nation, so is the level of its progress. The rate of progress is the same as is prevalence of thought. This holds true for a nation, a society, a community, a group, or a single individual. Where the level of thought does not rise, the society, the nation or the entity does not prosper."
According to the author...
"The national thought pattern of India can be summarized in the following words:
Work without caring for the results.
Act, but do not look for the fruits of action.
Desires cause dukha(sorrow); therefore, do not have them.
You get only what fate dictates.
Material wealth is inferior; spiritual life is superior.
You should strive to achieve unity with God for a happy life, to go to heaven, and to be reincarnated.
Man is predestined and cannot do anything unless it is willed by God.
Sorrow, pain, and misery can be removed only by God, not by human effort."
Looking at India now, with the above things in mind, you see that even today, in many places in India, this holds very true.
Lets take one example.
Sorrow, pain, and misery can be removed only by God, not by human effort.
If something like a Tsunami that stuck the nation on December 2004, had had happened few hundred years ago, where the communication between the different parts of the world was nowhere near where it is now, what would the people have thought?
They would have thought that the Gods are angry and the Gods sent waves and they would have done some poojas and rituals to calm down the angry Gods.
There is no way that people would have really tried to investigate and find out why such a thing happened.
There is no way they would have connected the earthquake which happened hundreds of miles away to a Tsunami. In fact they would have thought Gods were angry with Indonesia too!
Would India have behaved the same before 800 A.D.?
Probably not. The thought pattern of India was different before 800 A.D.
These are the few things that happened after 800 A.D.
Religion merged with politics. There was no separation of the church and the state.
The caste system was made more rigid and discriminatory.
Philosophical and practical teachings were completely distorted.
The pragmatic qualities of Yoga were completely replaced by religious, spiritual, and mystical preoccupations.
No foreign power was able to conquer India before 800 A.D.
So what happened around 800 A.D.?
What influenced the thought pattern of India eventually changing it?
The Indians derived this thought-pattern from scriptures and teachings based on those scriptures.
And the most important of them all, which influenced the people, is the scripture what we now call 'The Bhagavad Gita'.
The book's preface had the following text from the author.
"...there is something basically wrong with the thinking and action of the Indian people."
The author adds...
"I pondered some of the basic facts and problems related to India. Its people are no less intelligent, strong, and healthy than those of other nations. Its climate and natural resources are ideal for national growth and prosperity. The country has the basic technological knowledge for industrial and agricultural excellence. But having all these, why does India remain an impoverished country in which millions cannot eat well, cannot afford shelter, and cannot get adequate education and health services?"
The book that I read was the result of the above question from the author. Since my question was also exactly the same, I was very interested in this book.
The answer the author found was shocking to me.
The concept of a single God as Almighty and Supreme was introduced to India in 800 A.D.
Not Man but God was held to be Supreme.
Man could do only what was predestined by God. There was Heaven and Hell. Man possessed a soul which did not die but was reincarnated according to past and present deeds. The Brahmans were superior to all castes and the word Brahman was synonymous with Brahma and all the divinities.
Christianity and Islam did not borrow concepts and teachings from Hinduism. It was the other way around.
India went through a dramatic change in 800 A.D.
India entered the Dark Ages.
According to the author...
"As is the level of thought in a nation, so is the level of its progress. The rate of progress is the same as is prevalence of thought. This holds true for a nation, a society, a community, a group, or a single individual. Where the level of thought does not rise, the society, the nation or the entity does not prosper."
According to the author...
"The national thought pattern of India can be summarized in the following words:
Work without caring for the results.
Act, but do not look for the fruits of action.
Desires cause dukha(sorrow); therefore, do not have them.
You get only what fate dictates.
Material wealth is inferior; spiritual life is superior.
You should strive to achieve unity with God for a happy life, to go to heaven, and to be reincarnated.
Man is predestined and cannot do anything unless it is willed by God.
Sorrow, pain, and misery can be removed only by God, not by human effort."
Looking at India now, with the above things in mind, you see that even today, in many places in India, this holds very true.
Lets take one example.
Sorrow, pain, and misery can be removed only by God, not by human effort.
If something like a Tsunami that stuck the nation on December 2004, had had happened few hundred years ago, where the communication between the different parts of the world was nowhere near where it is now, what would the people have thought?
They would have thought that the Gods are angry and the Gods sent waves and they would have done some poojas and rituals to calm down the angry Gods.
There is no way that people would have really tried to investigate and find out why such a thing happened.
There is no way they would have connected the earthquake which happened hundreds of miles away to a Tsunami. In fact they would have thought Gods were angry with Indonesia too!
Would India have behaved the same before 800 A.D.?
Probably not. The thought pattern of India was different before 800 A.D.
These are the few things that happened after 800 A.D.
Religion merged with politics. There was no separation of the church and the state.
The caste system was made more rigid and discriminatory.
Philosophical and practical teachings were completely distorted.
The pragmatic qualities of Yoga were completely replaced by religious, spiritual, and mystical preoccupations.
No foreign power was able to conquer India before 800 A.D.
So what happened around 800 A.D.?
What influenced the thought pattern of India eventually changing it?
The Indians derived this thought-pattern from scriptures and teachings based on those scriptures.
And the most important of them all, which influenced the people, is the scripture what we now call 'The Bhagavad Gita'.
India - The Question
Have I become the very thing that I dreaded the most?
Have I fallen on the dark side?
Am I Anakin Skywalker?
Or have I become Darth Vader?
It all begun with a question pondering me for so many years now.
Why does a nation like India, which is tens of thousands of years old and having civilizations for thousands of years at least(in the recorded history), is way behind its western counterparts when it comes to development in the society?
Let's just take an example.
Bullock/Horse carts and Cars.
India had carts for thousands of years. From the beginning till today, how many improvements have we made to those carts?
Honestly, I can think of none. We never improvised. We never strived for excellency. The people wanted to travel from one place to another. They wanted to transport goods. They built a cart. It took them to the places they wanted to go. People were happy, they were satisfied. Period. End of development.
Anyone traveled in a cart today will know how rough the ride is.
Why is that no one even thought of simple improvements like putting a layer of rubber, a tire like layer over the wooden wheels, to make the ride little bit more comfortable?
Only recently we can see few, very few carts, that too in cities, carts having tires, (probably borrowed from some other discarded motor vehicle) instead of wheels.
Take the west. They had carts too. Mainly horse driven.
Carts became wagons. Wagons became sophisticated. People could travel for months in wagons. They could live & sleep in wagons. They could increase the 'horse power' of wagons, literally, by adding more horses.
Later carts became cars.
India, with thousands of years of civilization, did not invent cars. The west, with few hundred years of civilization behind it, achieved it.
Even in cars, how many improvements, enhancements, developments have we seen here in India?
How many modifications have been made to improve an Ambassador or a Maruthi 800 over several decades?
Take the west. Every year there is a modification, an improvement over the previous year. Every 4-5 years there is a major modification , improvement over the old model making the car only better and safer every time, excelling in performance.
Why?
When I asked this question to myself, the only answer that I got was, well...the people in India were satisfied with that they had. They lived with it.
But I could never understand why?
Why were the people satisfied with what they had?
Why were they content with that they had?
Why did they not improve, enhance, excel what they were doing?
I found the answer to this question recently.
Have I fallen on the dark side?
Am I Anakin Skywalker?
Or have I become Darth Vader?
It all begun with a question pondering me for so many years now.
Why does a nation like India, which is tens of thousands of years old and having civilizations for thousands of years at least(in the recorded history), is way behind its western counterparts when it comes to development in the society?
Let's just take an example.
Bullock/Horse carts and Cars.
India had carts for thousands of years. From the beginning till today, how many improvements have we made to those carts?
Honestly, I can think of none. We never improvised. We never strived for excellency. The people wanted to travel from one place to another. They wanted to transport goods. They built a cart. It took them to the places they wanted to go. People were happy, they were satisfied. Period. End of development.
Anyone traveled in a cart today will know how rough the ride is.
Why is that no one even thought of simple improvements like putting a layer of rubber, a tire like layer over the wooden wheels, to make the ride little bit more comfortable?
Only recently we can see few, very few carts, that too in cities, carts having tires, (probably borrowed from some other discarded motor vehicle) instead of wheels.
Take the west. They had carts too. Mainly horse driven.
Carts became wagons. Wagons became sophisticated. People could travel for months in wagons. They could live & sleep in wagons. They could increase the 'horse power' of wagons, literally, by adding more horses.
Later carts became cars.
India, with thousands of years of civilization, did not invent cars. The west, with few hundred years of civilization behind it, achieved it.
Even in cars, how many improvements, enhancements, developments have we seen here in India?
How many modifications have been made to improve an Ambassador or a Maruthi 800 over several decades?
Take the west. Every year there is a modification, an improvement over the previous year. Every 4-5 years there is a major modification , improvement over the old model making the car only better and safer every time, excelling in performance.
Why?
When I asked this question to myself, the only answer that I got was, well...the people in India were satisfied with that they had. They lived with it.
But I could never understand why?
Why were the people satisfied with what they had?
Why were they content with that they had?
Why did they not improve, enhance, excel what they were doing?
I found the answer to this question recently.
In the following days I will be posting a very important blog.
This has changed my life completely. This has changed my way of looking at lot of things with a completely different view.
I'm sure many of my readers life might be changed completely. If not, at least it will make them ask some very serious questions and rethink their entire life.
If nothing actually changes in their life, then probably they either knew the Truth, or they will be back.
So watch this column for the next couple of days.
As a note of caution, it's not for the faint-hearted or close-minded people.
So I strongly recommend those people to stay away.
Get ready for the most astonishing ride of your life. Buckle up Virginia.
This has changed my life completely. This has changed my way of looking at lot of things with a completely different view.
I'm sure many of my readers life might be changed completely. If not, at least it will make them ask some very serious questions and rethink their entire life.
If nothing actually changes in their life, then probably they either knew the Truth, or they will be back.
So watch this column for the next couple of days.
As a note of caution, it's not for the faint-hearted or close-minded people.
So I strongly recommend those people to stay away.
Get ready for the most astonishing ride of your life. Buckle up Virginia.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
"கடலுக்கு காதல் வந்தால் கரையேறி வந்தால் போதும்
கவிதைக்கு காதல் வந்தால் தாங்காதம்மா"
I ... I don't know why I sang that. I guess Iam just excited.mmmmmmm.
Today is my fourth day as a vegetarian.
Was a busy and interesting day at work. I programmed a very complex and intriguing business requirement which I discovered during my analysis of the requirements.
What else...
I went to gym and had a neat workout.
Came home and took a shower and made some lentils(paruppu) for tomorrow lunch.
Tomorrow the maid service is going to come to my house to do the monthly maintenance.
This weekend is a long weekend for me. Monday is a holiday(Labor Day). Labor day also marks official summer end in US. I don't have any plans for this long weekend. I guess I will just relax at home, go for a massage, and watch some movies.
Tomorrow is India Vs Zimbabwe at 330am. Haven't decided if I should get up early and watch it. Looking at the past performance (if I can say so) of Indian cricket team....ewwww...maybe it's not that good idea to wake up so early.
கவிதைக்கு காதல் வந்தால் தாங்காதம்மா"
I ... I don't know why I sang that. I guess Iam just excited.mmmmmmm.
Today is my fourth day as a vegetarian.
Was a busy and interesting day at work. I programmed a very complex and intriguing business requirement which I discovered during my analysis of the requirements.
What else...
I went to gym and had a neat workout.
Came home and took a shower and made some lentils(paruppu) for tomorrow lunch.
Tomorrow the maid service is going to come to my house to do the monthly maintenance.
This weekend is a long weekend for me. Monday is a holiday(Labor Day). Labor day also marks official summer end in US. I don't have any plans for this long weekend. I guess I will just relax at home, go for a massage, and watch some movies.
Tomorrow is India Vs Zimbabwe at 330am. Haven't decided if I should get up early and watch it. Looking at the past performance (if I can say so) of Indian cricket team....ewwww...maybe it's not that good idea to wake up so early.
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