Shameful Incident at Delhi

It was tolerable when, the last time, I saw the Indian parliamentary session recording ON RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT (yes!)..and the scene looked like a bunch of money- and power-greedy overgrown children, fighting overparliamentary issues....with chairs in their hands, and flinging mikes and sandals at one another (yes!) !!! Such is the complacency, maturity, civilty and tolerance level of our Government representatives.

But now, reading the following report, I am ashamed of the system which despite being governed by a lady President, and whose capital (Delhi) governed by a lady Chief Minister, has so much discrepancy, and that also in public !!

http://in.news.yahoo.com/071120/211/6nht7.html

I feel ashamed of men who are psychologically primitive , and donot respect women beyond the bonds of their immediate families. The general mindset has been consumed by sex, indulgence, intolerance, and greed. And one cannot impact much on alleviating this as long as the judicial system is crumbling under pressure and in turn, leaves the immediate-priority judgements at the mercy of the lower-priority judgements..this is what I am referring to:

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/uphaar-case-justice-in-slow-motion-and-why/52719-3.html

But there is much we can ourselves do...and the start is, to be unyielding to such corruption when it happens to us or our eco system, never to negotiate in what someone else deserves rightfully (it even includes paying the bus conductor the exact ticket amount, and taking a ticket, instead of paying him less(which he pockets for himself) ) , and in being responsible individuals, answerable to our conscience .

We have an unlimited capability to choose.

And every choice we make takes us more firmly towards the direction we chose to go.

But how can we overcome our petty short term pleasures and benefits , to receive grace from the Universe...I see only one answer...MEDITATION, SADHANA and GOOD COMPANY. Thats what hardens us, and bestows us control over our misleading 5 senses. We have been gifted this beautiful body, as an instrument for Divinity to flow through it...and for that it must become hollow, and empty, like the flute ! And unless the body is hollow and the the five senses are in moderation, we CANNOT have a consistently focussed mind...

MEDITATION SADHANAA GOOD COMPANY

GuruJi's discourse on my Birthday :-)

2nd Nov , this year was the birthday I felt most meaningful during my stay in Bangalore so far... and all thanks to my visit to Art Of Living...and the coincidence that Sri Sri was present...

...I remember complaining just couple of days back that GuruJi wont be present (according to his official schedule) at Bangalore ..and just like last 22 years even this year I wud miss meeting him on my Birthday...and Vijay AnandJi (senior teacher with AOL) calmed me saying," he is always present in you...dont be sad..." ...and lo!as if in answer to my longing, he was present that evening at Satsang...

I had the privilege to perform his aarti, and offer him roses, and a garland of flowers... and then the satsang proceeded with his discourses, after which when he asked Birthday and Anniversary audience to gather at stage...I was one among them ! :-) much to my amusement , the guy sitting next to me says, "Its not my birthday , its my Shahrukh's birthday, so I come to GuruJi to seek blessings for Shahrukh " ..such associativity and such innocence, I cud only smile... when I did GuruJi's aarti second time, he smiled, and realised its my birthday, and the most gentle words graced me, "Aaj Tumhara Birthday hai ?" I realised in an instant, all those moments when he noticed me, on previous visits to Ashram, he was aware of my presence, all those moments when he gazed upon me with deep eyes, as though piercing my soul, he knew who I was, but pretended to overlook me the next moment as if I didnt even exist...and today he gave me that meaningful 'I know you very well, beneath those layers of 22 years' look, he looked happy that its my Birthday....and then he took a garland and garlanded me too !!!
Dear friends when your very beloved (friend/family/someone you adore and also respect) garlands you, its as if he/she ties you in a knot of unconditional love and protection, and only a person who has experienced it, can feel what I felt...and I love him as much as I respect him...I respect him, because he is my Guru, and I also love him because He is Hari Sundar Nand Mukunda personified in the Guru of joy, innocence and love...such is my Guru. He came into my life when I was reeling from a 2 and half year old depression, and in just 2 days into the 6-day course my 2-year old depression had dissolved, and I discovered my true self...one of extreme joy , and uncontrollable happiness and love.

I fondly remember some words from his discourse that evening(2-Nov-07) which I found very valuable:

He spoke of Yog , and described it as a means of overcoming inertia and unwanted traits in body and mind:

Yog sey chitta-vritti ka nirog hota hai. Yog ke do saadhan hai : "Abhyas" aur "Vairagya" (Yoga eliminates the unwanted inertia and disease of body, by means of "practice" and "dispassion")
Abhyas: Drishti se "Drishtha" key swaroop mey sthith ho jaaney ki kalaa abhyaas hai . Abhyas se "Vartamaan" mey sthith ho jaana hi yog hai. (The technique of moving away from the scenery , and estabilishing oneself as the "seer", is practice. Yog is shifting one's thoughts into, and estabilishing one's mind in, the "present moment", through practice.)

"Satkar" sey abhyas karey.(Practice whould happen out of pure mind, not out of desire or unwillingness) That is the difference between Yog and exercise. In exercise, one neednot put one's heart into it, but in yog one must put one's heart into commitment.

Nowadays it is easier to adopt bad habits, and to be depressed or to be angry quickly, BECAUSE we have come far away form our true selves, and our true self is one of love.

On Vairagya(dispassion):
Greed arises in one through one's senses (we hear about/see/taste something, and thus become greedy for it). And the more the greed , the more unstable is the mind.
The more the greed for objects, and for lust, the More a person gets self-consumed. The only way out is by dispassion, and a longing for Truth, Seva and for Divine Love.

(On a personal note, my perspective of Divine love is, first as a human being we seek love among our sexual urges, and keep on gratifying it, to no end,...then later when we taste a pinch of Divine Longing, that is when shift happens, and then for a period of time, the mind and heart oscillates between the physical urge and divine urge, and the final realisation is in diverting the sexual urges towards a more higher and meaningful love, that is Divine Love. As Sri Sri says in Narada Bhakthi Sutra "One moment of samadhi is equivalent to one thousand times of sex.")

All crimes in this world are a result of greed gone 'out of control'. Another way to feel the dispassion is to long for the Supreme, because when you long for the Supreme treasure 'inside' you, everything else 'outside' loses appeal.

Question: GuruJi, I have attended the Corporate training techniques at Ashram last few days, and this has enormously benefited my intellect, sense of thinking and shifted my awareness on priorities. There are so many systematic techniques and scientific technologies involved in the courses. Then why was "Art Of Living" named so, and why not "Science Of Living" ?

SriSri: In this world, there are very few people who appreciate science, and even fewer who have the spirit of inquiry...hence not everyone would see the appeal in it. But art appeals to everybody. Music and art is prevalent universally throughout mankind. Inclination among simple people in villages/cities towards science is low.
Therefore I thought ART OF LIVING would make more sense and reach out to more people who 'really need science'.

Sri Sri on crimes: Today, the way out of crimes in this world is to honor life.


Question: What is truth ?

SriSri: You want a simple answer…yes? Truth is that , which is not false (laughter among all) What is false? That which is affected by time and space. This was the definition given by the great saint Adi Shankara. He says, 'that which is not affected by space and time is truth'.

When you are dreaming, you have a nightmare. Tha is limited to a few minutes(time). And the moment yu wake up, it becomes false.


Question (I asked :)): GuruJi how shall I wake up, in this lifetime, before this lifetime flows past ?

GuruJi(looking deep into my eyes): Are you dreaming? (Gaurav: I feel I am dreaming when I am with you GuruJi)
If you are dreaming, how can you know that you are dreaming? (few people laugh, others smile). That means you are already awake. (GuruJi smiles meaningfully at me)


Question: GuruJi how should one handle transitions in life ?

GuruJi: With patience, perseverance. If it is a sudden transition it comes as a shock and we feel unable to handle it. Then the transition controls you. But if the transition is slow and foreseen, then use patience and perseverance. And remember nothing lasts, everything must perish, and change from one form to another. So you needn't worry much.

Question: GuruJi vartamaan mey rehney ki itni aadat ban gayi, kal kya sikhaya hai , woh bhool gaye hai. (I am so used to living in the "present" , that, what you taught yesterday, I have forgotten)

GuruJi: Lekin kal aapki pariksha hone wali hai.(but tomorrow is your test)(Sri Sri smiles very meaningfully). Vartamaan mey rehney sey smriti shakti badh jati hai.(Staying in the present, sharpens your intellect and memory)

On religion and spirituality: Religion has become devoid of spirituality. That is why it has become a source of conflict. Religion has become a tool for self-empowerment. That is why, one must emphasize on spirituality...because spirituality is where all religions converge. { WOW !}


Question: GuruJi Can abhyaas (practice) and vairagya (dispassion) be attained by self-effort or through Guru's grace?

GuruJi: Abhyaas, one must make the effort oneself. And Vairagya...dispassion leads to Wakefulness..wakefulness is awakening of the reality.
Just as seeing and listening to a television is stimultaneous, the same way, 'grace helps you to be centred in vairagya', and vairagya brings wakefulness.


(He winks at all , clicks his fingers, and closes the session.)

RELIGION, STRENGTH, COMMITMENT

Q. Most problems that exist today are in the name of religion. What's the future?

Sri Sri: The problem in religion is when the diehards say,"Oh! I cant say 'Allah' or 'Shiva' or 'Jesus'." Is your religion so weak that you will lose it just by saying "Om"? Or if you say "Allah", it wont take your religion away. i guarantee you no Go d will get angry with you.You accept technology and food from everywhere, isn't it? But when it comes to wisdom and singing, people seem to cringe. We have to break these barriers.


Sri Sri on strength and commitment:

"...When you want to do something, look at your own strength. Your weakness is that you start looking at others' strengths! When you are running, you can only look at the track below, not at who is next to you! Like a horse with blinders, look at your path only! Let anybody else do whathe or she wants to.
Also any job that you do, should be done with commitment.Otherwise, you will do th ejob when you enjoy it and stop doing it when you dont."


"You are only requuired to do what you want to do. You simply have to know that and you will get the strength.

Know that your life is more than your activity.

Life is not only about achieving - it is about contributing. "

Personally I found this true, and also a simple powerful fact...The next time you are bored or unhappy(even after you achieved something you had been personally longing/striving for), simply go and do some seva, do something for someone which will make him/her happy...for a child, for your friend, for a complete stranger, and then in a moment you will see your mood will be transformed from the happiness it will give you..nothing compares to it. So you know now what to do next time you are smitten by a heartbreaker, or feeling unhappy despite a personal win. O:-)

INDIA is more than we know !

INDIA

is not only a land of snake charmers, Miss Worlds, best sportsmen, technology, outsourcing, spirituality, and all contrasting views, but it is also a land where esoterism has emerged very boldly amidst a mixed cultural rainbow of all creeds, castes, mentalities, societies of people...the faith and the faithless, the poor-yet-happier and the rich-but-unhappy, the intellectuals and the street-smarts, the mythological legacies, thehardcore political dramas and ever-compelling excellence stunts in today's flattened world...this is India and much more.

This thought recurred to me after I viewed an article by a Mr. Rawat, excerpted in www.carolbowman.com


I should remark to sceptics, "The truth doesnot change according to out ability to stomach it." ~Flannery O'Connor

There are many more documented stories in Carol's site..and worth a look, to broaden our horizons and break our preconceived notions and "opinions" regarding the flow of things in this world.


Infact the second part of what I want to mention about is more explosive in its revelation....

but let me start with the man himself :

"A human being is a part of a whole, called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest... a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." -ALBERT EINSTEIN


Enlightenment: Interview (Excerpts) with Sri Ananda Giri

Sri Ananda Giri is one of the most prominent representatives of the Oneness Foundation. In this interview, from his tour in the USA, he is explaining the Golden Age Foundations view on the status of the world and the humanity of today, and how it can be changed. Radically.

"
What is the message and main teachings that you are bringing today to the spiritual seekers of America?

I have come to bring neither a new teaching nor a new philosophy of life; we already have received a huge number of teachings from different Saints, Sages, Mystics, Philosophers and great thinkers from different schools of thought. The world is full of philosophies, religions, esoteric teachings (revealed to the world), spiritual practices, techniques of self development, etc., that set forth beautiful theories and ideas of how we should live or what do we have to do, to find true "Happiness" in our lives. The question that I ask you is that after so much reading and listening to different teachings, is there any real change in our lives? Or, are we just changing techniques and philosophies, that keep us in rapture for a period of time, and after a while we find them impossible to follow and practice? Giving up finally the possibility to attain a real and deep change in our lives?

If you are not giving us a new teaching or technique, what should we expect from Foundation for World Awakening?

We, as a spiritual movement, ask you two questions:
1. Are you suffering? And,
2. Do you want to be free from this suffering?
If your answer is affirmative to both questions, we embrace you, and then our Foundation can help you.

What do you mean by "suffering"?

In many moments of our lives we found ourselves experiencing feelings of boredom, loneliness, depression, pain and conflict in our human relationships, lack of motivation, and sometimes meaninglessness in many of our daily activities.
These feelings make us suffer, because they come generally with anxiety and uncertainty, and we don't know if we will ever be free from these emotions and feelings.
Inside of us questions arise like: Why am I here? What is the meaning of life? Will I find happiness and love in my life or is it just a dream? Where am I going? Is there any hope for a change or do I have to give up? What is living? Do I do what I really want, or do I feel like a slave of the impositions of society? Will I ever experience the real psychological and spiritual freedom? And so on and so forth...

What would happen if somebody comes and tells you that he has none of these questions, because he feels happy and in peace and that he has found everything he has searched for?

Not everybody is a spiritual seeker in this world. The truth is that only a selected group of people is in a real search in their lives. We as human beings are suffering from a severe illness, which is not necessarily lack of love, hatred ness, pride, greed, envy, covetousness or egoism, but we are suffering with an even greater illness, which is "lack of awareness" of what is happening inside us. Most of us walk in the streets without knowing, why we are going to our jobs, from where comes our urge to success, why should I go to the shopping malls every weekend, what makes me buy the latest car model that just appeared in the market, what is it that moves me everyday to action, why should I keep myself constantly busy, etc. If everything is fine and if I were really happy, for sure I would not have the necessity of keeping my mind constantly busy with ideas and projects for the future. If we contemplate for a moment we will see that real happiness and joy is only found in the present, but constantly we keep ourselves busy doing things for acquiring happiness and peace in the future, we are running after a moving train, which we can never catch.
The sincere spiritual seeker, first of all, is aware of this issue and feels the urge to find a way out of this stressing and anguishing situation. He has begun to see the lack of love and peace in his life, the lack of harmony in his family and personal relationships, and the lack of truthfulness because he is always involved in lies and hypocrisies in order to be accepted in this society. In the beginning, a spiritual seeker feels disgusted and sick of everything, and this is what really transforms him into a real and deep seeker of meaning, into a "Spiritual Seeker".

I am sure that many people who are reading this article would like you to go deeper and give us more clarity into what is the difference between Reformation and Transformation.


What we know today as change and personal development is basically Reformation.

Modern man has been greatly influenced by the paradigm of Science, which has come into fruition as an analytical and rational mind. We are perceiving the world, other people, things and nature from the standpoint of ideas, concepts, a mixture of concepts-ideas, or images that have been created in our minds through the past experiences that were significant in our lives. Therefore, any change that occurs in us is basically a change that manifests itself in the level of our concepts, ideas, beliefs and mental schemes.
The teachings we have received from great masters such as Christ, Buddha, LaoTse, Mohammed, Sri Krishna, Confucius and many other great Saints, Mystics and Sages, have been transformed into mere concepts and ideas, and that is the reason that, despite the clarity manifested by these great beings, it was and it is so hard to put them into practice and follow them wholeheartedly. There is always a conflict between the teaching and our inner nature. The teachings may be wonderful and we see the truth in them, and we know that if we could apply these great truths in our lives all the human problems and sufferings would be solved. But is almost impossible to follow them because our nature is different, and it is not natural for us to love unconditionally as Christ did, and it is not natural for us to feel detachment from desires as it was for the Buddha.
If we go more deeply we see that the inner nature of these great Masters was different, their Consciousness was different. For them, what they preached and taught was natural; it was part of their inner nature and drawn from their own experience.
A real inner change means Transformation, and it is not a change in the realm of concepts and ideas but in your inner world. Your whole perception undergoes a deep change; your consciousness has been altered.

Please, reveal to us in more depth the inner process that occurs in this journey of Transformation.

In this, the journey of Transformation, changes in the inner nature begin to occur. At the beginning of this journey very often there is an internal crisis, because our inner structures of thought start falling, and our ideas, concepts, creeds and mental schemes change.
Much of what we have created in our minds, images, conclusions, prejudices, our perceptions of the world, how we see ourselves, our friends, our family, and life itself, starts breaking down along with the security that we put on those images.
Slowly we begin to see reality, as it is, without masks, without false protections, we begin to perceive things as they really are.
In other words, what we start experiencing is not a growth or an accumulation inside of us, but a loosening of the attachments, images, concepts, ideas, sensations, to which we have been tied up and that has given us a false security until today. Remember, "Transformation is the journey of Liberation"; it means you begin to feel more light and free because you have given away a lot of unnecessary weight.

Therefore, if we are not experiencing this process of structures falling, does it mean we have not begun this journey?

Yes, that's right. That is why I have said that many who say that they are transformed and think they are spiritual beings are just fooling themselves, because they have been accumulating and building up, hence the unlearning process must be even harder.
Remember, this is the journey of humbleness and humility; it is not a competition to see who is more evolved.
Sri Kalki says in one of his Supreme Truths "Life is a process of learning and learning is unlearning". It means that if we are not unlearning (the falling of mental structures) everyday, Maybe we are not living at all!

As this process of unlearning begins to occur in our lives, when does this unlearning process end or, we must be completely void? And if it is so, does it mean that we should lose the notion and memory of ourselves?

The answer to the first question is yes. We must be completely void and until this occurs we should go on unlearning what we have accumulated in our lives. Our purpose of incarnation in this planet is to begin our Spiritual Awakening, and there is no other reason for being here. I see that you do not understand the unlearning process, and I am going to explain it further. If we go deeper into the world of memories, feelings and experiences of the past, we will see that the remembrance of some past experiences carry with it a strong emotional charge and others do not. This emotional charge affects us now in the present. Through our life we have had positive and negative experiences that made a strong impact in our memory, like the first years of our life, childhood, years at school, University period, etc. These past experiences determine our present conduct and behaviour, and how we perceive the circumstances of our daily life. To be able to experience the present as it is, without an emotional charge from our past, and to feel really free in our daily decisions, we must be liberated from our past experiences that carry a strong emotional charge. Therefore, the unlearning must occur at this level, this does not mean you would forget who are your parents and your friends, and that you are going to lose your memories; but you are not going to be attached to them. Attachment to these images that are charged with strong emotional feelings is what keeps you enslaved, and keeps you away from freedom and from being spontaneous in the present. Through this unlearning you are liberated from your past traumas and bad experiences such as fear, anguish, creeds accepted blindly by you and that you have never questioned, and ideas of ourselves that limits us just to certain activities, which makes us feel we are not able to realize our real self, and does not let us apply the whole creative potential that we have inside of us.

If I am aware of the necessity to begin the journey of Transformation, what is the next step I should take?

After being aware of the necessity and the desire to change, you should see that every intent and effort to change your inner nature might just produce reformation and not bring the true Transformation into your life. If we go deeper into the nature of our mind, first we will see that our mind is constantly planning and programming events, keeping under control and order the situations and events that are going to occur in the day, in the week, in the month, in the year or even in the rest of our life. If a change must occur in our inner world we must realize that every change in our feelings, perceptions and emotions have the characteristic of being natural and spontaneous in nature. Every experience is spontaneous; it is not planned or organized. I do not plan to get mad at my wife, husband or friend, neither do I plan to feel glad or happy today. I do not program to feel depressed on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and be happy the rest of the week. Therefore, the nature of the experience and of the inner world (feelings, emotions, sensations and perceptions) is spontaneous and natural.
After seeing the necessity of a change and Transformation, I should also realize that the key to success is not in my hands and in my own efforts, because something spontaneous must occur, an extraordinary experience must occur, a transcendental experience, a divine and mystical experience must be given to me to get the state of Transformation and Liberation.

...

Where and when was this movement born?

Foundation for World Awakening was born in 1991, in Madras, India.

How many followers do you have around the world?

Over 15 million.

Where are the followers of this Foundation?

Ceylon, United Kingdom, Sweden, Ukraine, Argentine, Chile, Uruguay, Russia, India, Brazil, United States, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Ecuador, Singapore, China, Australia and other countries from the former Soviet Union.


What are the statistics concerning the growth of the movement?

It is growing in such an astonishing manner that we can no longer have an accurate statistics. From what we know, it is the fastest growing movement in the world.

What do you think is the reason for such an incredible growth?

Today we are experiencing a unique phenomenon on earth. And each man and woman that walks on this planet must discover it. The coming of Sri Kalki is very important and is a milestone in the evolution of man and of our planet. Our beloved Sri Kalki is the source of the innumerable insights, realizations and the source of the highest mystical experiences that are awakening the mystic within the hearts of the seekers.


You talk about the beginning of a new Age, and that we are at the dawn of this Age, is this the so-called Age of Aquarius by the astrologers?

It is the dawn of a new Age, The Golden Age; the Age of Aquarius is a small age inside the Golden Age. All the changes that are beginning to occur in our planet are representative of the dawn of this new Age, changes in the level of perceptions in man; perceptions of himself, of the Universe and the Creator; changes that make us enter into different stages of growth and comprehension of reality. From the standpoint of astrology we can see a new planetary and zodiacal cycle for this planet Earth. Behind these observations there are profound meanings that will become clearer as we experience the trends that will affect our lives completely. So this is a phenomenon that affects not only the planet but affects YOU. You will feel it in every cell of your body.

What are the changes that we will experience?

Many changes are occurring right now in our planet, starting with the physical changes manifesting in the ecological environment that surrounds us. Climatic changes, changes in ocean currents, and strong changes in the atmosphere that affect the Earth and all the living species in it.
As these changes are manifesting and many more are to come, something begins to happen to us at a psychological level, the creeds we have, the social, economical, political and cultural systems begins to shake and collapse. You just have to open your eyes to see that we are coming near a cliff, we are in crisis and in a society that sooner than later is going to break down. Society is a blend of ideas and beliefs, perceptions kept alive for some time, and today it is in crisis. Our social, economical and political system is based upon ideas and beliefs; there is absolutely nothing real in which we have put our hopes and securities. Looking back in history we see that each ideology in some moment has fallen down because a new one takes form, the new is more real and closer to what man perceives as truth at that given moment.

Then, what is this new idea or ideology that man is going to develop as a new perception?

This time it is a completely new and distinct change. If we see and analyze the current situation of young men throughout the world we can appreciate with more clarity the phenomenon that is occurring today. The teenage period is characterized by an idealistic feeling, there is a profound search for truth and there is born a deep longing to keep their ideal alive. Seeing the actual state of teenagers we find that they are living in confusion, where all the ideas have lost power, and there is a general sense of boredom, meaninglessness and a total loss of identity with society.
This phenomenon that we see very clearly in this example is what brings us to an even deeper change, because a new idea does not attract us anymore. We had very bad experiences with ideologies that lead us to move to a non-believing state. If you go inside your heart you will discover that you do not want another idea that will control your life for a brief time, after which you will have to change it again. We are frustrated with it and we want something more permanent and real.
Therefore this is the moment where each one of us must move from ideas and beliefs to a personal discovery of the real truth.

What is it that we have to discover?

Basically there are three discoveries that must happen to you. In the first place, you must begin to discover yourself and know who you are. Secondly, start discovering the secrets and the great mysteries behind creation that are revealed to you as you begin to discover yourself. And the last and most important one is to begin the greatest and more wonderful journey that man has ever undertaken, which is to meet God personally.

What do you think about the future of the planet and man?

There is a truth of Sri Kalki that says: "Spiritual Regeneration is the cause of physical and psychological degeneration". It means that every change and difficulty we are experiencing today has its roots in the spiritual plane, therefore man is entering into a new state of consciousness, where it will no more be difficult for him to love and have peace in his life, because this will be his natural state.
...
What will happen to our society after many people have begun their journey of Transformation?

Imagine for a moment a society where each one of us will take care of everyone else. We will be a society where the sick, the poor, the handicapped will receive help and love from the rest...At last we will be a universal family where there will be no divisions between countries, religious groups, social and economical classes, because we would not be wearing our masks that are born from fear, we will know each other, not from lies, but we will relate with others from true love. Where the welfare of the rest will be more important than personal welfare there man will meet with what has been his quest and dream, which is to feel himself as a part of a whole, and to be able to experience a real communion with his existence, the Universe and the Whole.

"

The research has culminated into ONENESS UNIVERSITY. www.onenessuniversity.org
Why I chose to speak about it suddenly today..perhaps because this in itself is the highest form of technology that the Universe manifests...have we noticed, that to change the grand , visible, gross schema of undesirable things in world (be it HIV/Cancer/mutation), we plunge towards the SOURCE, the SOURCE being the smallest units of every creation...and thence forth sprang molecular biology, nanotechnology, genetic engineering and on. So to know this Creation, we need to know ourselves first. And this process is called SELF-KNOWLEDGE. And Foundations like Art Of Living and Oneness University have made some groundbreaking research, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Sri Amma Bhagavan have brought our minds and collective consciousness together, and we are lucky to be living in such times, when information is at our fingertips, consciousness of individuals are rising, and the world is transforming into a knowledge-based, one single planet.
I can recommend thats,
" Even if you're on the right track , you'll get run over if you just sit there."
Let us not sit back and get run over..let us "Turn our faces to the Sun, and the Shadows (of past civilisational mistakes) fall behind us"

-just a bit of observation-

Swastiastu ! (its in Indonesian lingo...figure it out, meaning is beautiful)
Here are some IT facts to digest, for people who are religious abut technology fads...something like being part of the 'revolution'...or maybe savingt he world from obsolence by being part of the latest buzzwords..(and of course I m proud to b on blogspot, the best blogging site !)



Nielsen//NetRatings
TOP blogging sites in September 2007


AudienceGrowth
September 2006 September 2007 YTY

Blogger 19,751 ---- 29,596------ 50%
Six Apart TypePad 7,525------10,992 --------46%
WordPress.com 2,673 10,424 290%
tmz.com 6,000 10,293 72%
LiveJournal 3,685 4,160 13%
Xanga.com 5,528 3,008 -46%
Perezhilton.com 1,234 2,203 79%
Engadget 1,503 2,021 34%

Gizmodo 763* 1,891 148%
Thatsfit N/A 1,726





TOP search engines in September 2007

Engine-- Searches-- Growth-- YTY Share
Google ---3,994,158--- 41.3%---- 54.0%
Yahoo! ---1,443,244--- 9.3%---- 19.5%
MSN -----890,685 --- 71.5%---- 12.0%
AOL ---- 444,493 --- 24.0%--- 6.0%
Ask.com--158,969 --- 4.5% --- 2.2%


TOP social networking sites in September 2007

Site ---------------------Audience Growth(Sep 2007) YTY
Myspace.com------------58,581 --------------------------24%
Facebook ----------------18,090 ------------------------133%
Classmates Online-------13,313 ---------------------------0%
Windows Live Spaces----10,275-------------------------- 32%
AOL Hometown ----------7,685------------------------ -23%
Reunion.com -------------4,845------------------------ 3%
LinkedIn -----------------4,075------------------------ 131%
AOL People Connection--- 4,017------------------------ -34%





(ahem...my blogger.com still reigns....mmmmm)





Quoting Steve Ballmer, "MS Search capabilities are goung to dunk the other guys" !!
....goodness gracious !where are we headed mates?? Maybe I dont have the legendary expertise and experience as Stevie, but perhaps being in a desert too long can be illusioning as one's focus gets blurred in terms of the difference between a "blurred being in the zone"guy and a "fresh outsider's view of the larger picture"guy ..so as far as I perceive it...certain startegies at MS have become an ill-boding, just the oxymoron way certain other strategies have enhanced the Company's adoptability( like a base ecosystem of Windows based GUI's to market and grip the zillions of people around, and then to deploy marketing strategies and eye-candies heavily on these old cash cows...the same way as wine does...(but again Software != Wine), and of course sharing code (Windows XP code, .NET, etc))...plummeting back to strategies that look like the silence before a storm , I see Steve's strategies in pushing MS into minds and souls of people, rather too aggressive and pushy, that also in 2 risky scenarios

>> more and more number of bugs and patches that bog down the acceptability of newer MS products in a fight by users who insist old is better (the same way that Vista SP2 has been postponed, and support for XP2 has been retained)

>>2nd scenario, overly diverging the previously efforts of the teams across the world, causing a pattern I would classify as "concave lens diverging parallel rays of a light beam"...Steve you are the lens , dont you see it ?? The effect shall be the opposite of what a convex lens like other competent search engine giants(their biggest competitors) are doing, "convex lens converges parallel beam" ...the over all effect, the efforts are not being focussed, the upto-an-extent-justified-but-not-effective-in-long-run strategy of diversifying should also be folllowed with a laser focus on the divesified products, and more importantly, not just retaining the value of an array of relatively-older product arsenals, but to actually improve them aggressively...andthe golden rule to learn is to LISTEN . Listen to the loud noises blogs are making from people in startups, analysts who care to write about your Organisation, your products. Listen. And then strategize, it WILL go a long way and save much last-minute bug fixes, and patches which we are so unpopular about. And here I emphasize upon the gem of our evolution...our ability to "create". And creation happens only when we are inspired, or in more gross terms, when neccesity knocks on the door...so let your teams INNOVATE and thats where a see a silver lining in this new directionof efforts MS is headed towards..MS is listening, through the ears of their Evangelists..and thats a good sign. Tomorrow is a day when consumers drive "user-geerated.editor-less.useful.neccesity-driven.scalable" technologies loudly, and dont you want to make sure you are basking in the glory then Mr. Ballmer , because you listened. And because your focus had shifted from only "dunking" competitors in a dodge ball game, into an alternative parallel strategy , just as stronglt focussed on letting your best developers run free to play amidst the ecosystem of infrastructure you have created, and to be "inspired" to create, instead of JUST COMPETING to stay even. Its not just about staying even. And maybe someone rightly said too.."A good software is not when you have no features left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." Remember Joel Spolsky's blog on USABILITY http://www.joelonsoftware.com/uibook/chapters/fog0000000057.html and its cardinality moral.



Now that I have driven a few points home(at the expense of constraining my urge to nature's call, until I am done!), I feel like I could do with a short break until I get to sharing my DIGGS about an insightful blog born somewhere, or a beautiful thought born in my unpredictable mind that can change the world ;-) ...maybe who knows ?

Meaning of Life

I have a only one question for today :

"What is the purpose you were created and manifested in this body, in this lifetime ?"

?

interesting view

This post makes sense
http://ubshreenath.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!6447FDAF06658642!503.entry

m waiting for the rest of the story.