SPEAKING OF WORLD VIEW AND CONTEXTS..................

http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/music/a/violinist_metro.htm

Good morning India.........

Dressed in jeans and a baseball cap, a 39 year-old ‘fiddler’stood against a wall next to a trash can at the L’Enfant Plaza metro station in Washington D.C. He looked like any other street musician trying to make a buck.

During the 43 minutes that he played his violin, researchers watched 1,097 people pass by during the morning rush hour. It took 3 minutes before someone even gazed in his direction, and even longer before any money was thrown into his violin case.

Most people did not notice the musician. Some were talking on cell phones, others listened to iPods. Masterful pieces such as Bach’s “Chaconne”, Franz Schubert’s “Ave Maria”, and Manuel Ponce’s “Estrellita”, were passed off as nothing more than “generic classical music”. (Weingarten, 2007)That day, the fiddler made $32.17, or 75 cents a minute.

When situated within an upscale concert hall dressed in black, the same 39 year-old ‘fiddler’, Joshua Bell, on the same $3.5 million Stradivari violin, commands up to $1,000 a minute playing the exact same masterpieces. This elite musician is said to be “one of the finest classical musicians in the world, playing some of the most elegant music ever written on one of the most valuable violins ever made.” (Weingarten, 2007).

Within the context of a subway street musician, a measly seven people were moved to stop and listen before walking by. Within the context of a famous concert hall musician, thousands of listeners invest significant money to hear and be moved by Bell’s music, often with standing room only.

Often times during my counseling sessions with my students and their parents, I come across huge generation gaps and acute misunderstandings between the two. "Misunderstandings" is a mild word I use.
I think let the new generation have a free hand once a “Vision” is created. Let them be the designers of a new foundation along with the new buildings. Let them learn from old mistakes and their own. Let them close gaps to the front and not to their rear. Let us not keep making them look into rear view mirrors all the time in terms of our righteousness, vanity, cultural, social and religious bindings. Which often times my generation mistakes for "Values".

I think the first step would be recognizing the fact, that “What was good for us in our times may not be good for them in theirs”. After all how the world occurs to us, make our contexts and these contexts drive us.
(Precisely why I have reproduced the story of Joshua Bell).

Similar is the case with the new generation. Let us not make their contexts. It would be the same as creating new buildings on old foundations, howsoever much we may feel that our foundations are the strongest and the best. That is because over time our beliefs become our absolute truths and finally our so called values. We forget that values are only those which are universally accepted and not by isolated societies. 

Therefore it is time that the older generation learnt to understand that the next generation might see the poor fiddler as Joshua Bell on the subway and make their contexts accordingly.

The context uses you in that it shapes your way of being, which includes your perceptions, imagination, emotions, and thinking, and as a consequence the context shapes your actions. Can you really domesticate the next generation as per your perceptions and contexts? Like you train your dog not to pee on the carpet, to indicate with his tail when he requires to be let into the garden for his poop or not put his loving paws on the baby?
Food for thought is it not?

Burying Hemant Karkare......

Burying Hemant Karkare......

http://epaper.indianexpress.com/c/10385610

This is what a Policeman Julio Ribero spoke exactly a year ago as a Christian....
”Today, in my 86th year, I feel threatened, not wanted, reduced to a stranger in my own country. The same category of citizens who had put their trust in me to rescue them from a force they could not comprehend have now come out of the woodwork to condemn me for practicing a religion that is different from theirs. I am not an Indian anymore, at least in the eyes of the proponents of the Hindu Rashtra".

Today at age 87 he writes in the Indian Express an article 
"Burying Hemant Karkare".
The only thing I like about Julio Ribero and admire him for in his article, is that he has stood up all the way for his brother officer. He has not sold Hemant Karkare down the drain like it happened with Col Purohit. Col Purohit being from the Indian Army Corps of Intelligence should have been kept away from all including Cops. Possibly untold damage may have occurred as quite a few cops are traitors and they would have got hold of Top Secret Inner workings of Military Intelligence so also knowledge of military assets. Specially after hearing that Col Purohit was subjected to 3rd Degree torture by Hemant Karkare and his band. Like Hanging him upside down from a hook in the roof and heavy and brutal beatings, he being a human being may have divulged sensitive information. Now this is why I am upset at the superior officers of the Indian Army.

After having served close on to 26 years in the Army, I can say with certainty, no Army Officer moves or does anything without the orders and knowledge of superiors. If one has a look at the movement Order on which he moved from his unit to Delhi, it is absolutely correct and above board and for any soldier to move anywhere in India on duty it is sacrosanct. Unfortunately within this travel period Col Purohit was whisked away by Mr. Riberos blue eyed boy to destinations unknown, I believe from his home in Pachmari, it also appeared to be with the connivance of his bosses.

Julio Ribero is all praises for Karkare, and rejects out of hand, all evidence faulting Karkare in Malegaon blasts probe. Irrespective of the fact that NIA was heading a new probe. For him Karkare "Enjoyed an unsullied reputation for integrity, both financial and intellectual" So Hemant Karkare in Julio Ribeiro's eyes, could do NO wrong. I think senility is slowly catching up with him.

He talks of Hemant Karkare as being a highest upper cast Brahmin yet being impartial in his approach to all castes and religions. That I think is an insult to my clan. In effect he says that the Brahmin caste in general look down upon other castes in their professions? So somewhere in his heart he is biased towards other casts and religions? He further goes on to say that in our land the governing creed was "Hindus killing Muslims will be dealt with equally sternly as Muslims killing Hindus". Dear Sir, you are an acknowledged Congress Dupatta, do you really think the latter is true. May be old age has magnified his obsession with his Christian identity, which hopefully is a present trend due to approaching senility and was not there during his service in senior positions, because that in itself would have been a cause for worry.

I am not denying that Hemant Karkare may have been a very good Policeman and a good Police Officer, half of your article consists of your praise for him. Yet it must be remembered, the way you accuse the present "Hindutva agenda government" of sullying and burying Karkares good name. So also you accuse the NIA "under directions" of diluting the case made by Karkare. Exactly the same could be said of Karkare and his ATS. You refuse to believe that the NIA has some substance and evidence to reframe charges against the accused. Yet you believe without an iota of doubt that Hemant Karkare and his ATS could do no wrong and their presented case was gods own truth? 

Yet it is well known Mr Julio Ribero, that how the IPS who come under the command of State Governments are so unceremoniously treated like the politicians shoe shine boys. So it is quite possible that your blue eyed boy while investigating the case, had to bend to the pseudo secular pseudo pro minority Congress Government in power in Maharashtra at that point of time, as you now accuse the NIA? So also at that time it was common knowledge which minorities, the Nehru topiwalas were talking about. 

No Mr Julio Ribero I think you need to do a re think on your thoughts. As an upright policeman who rose to the highest ranks, you cannot have 2 standards to measure the same square. I have utmost respect for you, yet sometimes old age makes us treat our beliefs as if they were gods own truth.

Indian Army Coached 26 Kashmiri Students For JEE (Mains) Exam, 15 Got Selected

The Army’s Dagger Division, on Behalf on Chinar Corps, at Baramulla facilitated the students of the Valley who attended Kashmir Super-30 engineering coaching programme in 2015-16.

See more here:

http://topyaps.com/15-kashmiri-students-jee-mains-2016

A lot of my civilian and some Army friends commented on this initiative, mostly in the negative.

Some of them:

" Why waste time on them"

"Why not train veterans children"

"They are separatists and traitors don't deserve to come into Indian Institutes of learning". Plus a whole variety of them. Very few if any commended the Army for this sadbhavana initiative. I think all of us tended to forget that we are talking of children in the age group of 18 to 20.

I was very sad to also see a comment that " Still they will always love Pakistan". Actually this was the comment that hurt me most and triggered me to share my thoughts more than anything else.

I do appreciate these comments from the view point of those who see Kashmiris as anti Nationals and traitors. A separatist bunch of terrorists. However the comment that "They will still love Pakistan",  said with reference to students being trained for JEE and IIT entrance, that I think only time will tell.  

Twenty years of working as a facilitator and trainer and conducting Soft Skills Development Training Programs in Manufacturing and Service Industry mostly multinational and large corporate, teaching in Universities and Colleges, I tend to rethink. We cannot impose our perceptions on Gen Next. After all they are evolving and we are dinosaurs now fading into the mists of time.

I hated Pakistan and even hate it today, my sworn enemies from 1971. I used to harbor equal hate for Nehru, his dynasty and the Nehru topiwalas, the reason behind all the mess. If you really see the origins of this Kashmiri problem, it lies squarely at the feet of Jawaharlal Nehru,  an incompetent, egoistic and the weakest PM India has had the misfortune to have, these facts are available in contemporary history not colored by the white topiwalas. Even as Pakistani raiders were within 7 km of the Srinagar airport on 26 October 1947, and Sardar Patel prevailing upon Nehru. Manekshaw, then a Lt Colonel in the Directorate of Military Operations, presented an assessment to the Defence Committee of the Cabinet that Kashmir would be lost for good if troops were not flown immediately.
"Nehru hesitated (even after the Maharaja of Kashmir acceded to India). He was concerned about the world opinion (aka Looking Good) and talked about consulting the UN, until an impatient Sardar Patel wrested the initiative from him. "Jawahar, do you want Kashmir or do you want to give it away?" "Of course, I want Kashmir," was Nehru's indignant response. The Sardar turned to Sam and said, "You have your marching orders". Then my father who was a part of the operations as a company commander of a Sikh battalion, tells me Nehru stopped our advance into now Pak occupied Kashmir. We begged for just 48 hours to finish this battle, but this idiot on the advice of Mrs Mountbatten called in the United Nations and ordered a cease fire and left this state permanently on fire.. So why blame these children for the sins of their fathers? However that is neither here and there.

Coming back to the comment by people, "Why waste time on Kashmiri students"," they will still love Pakistan" and others, I feel the implication is that these friends feel that by giving an opportunity to Kashmiri kids to come into the mainstream of Indian Society, by facilitating their studies to become competitive and join premier Institutions of learning, they should become Indoctrinated with thoughts that will make them Nationalistic within the definitions of Nationalism as my friends see it, and taking it a bit further as stated, start hating Pakistan. Then in their ideas, these students will become true Indians deserving everything.

I am now more than certain and convinced, that we cannot impose on this generation in their late teens or early twenties, to hate Pakistan or to that matter China or any other country, because our or my sense of Nationalism dictates so,  because of our experiences with Pakistan says so.

Perception is at best subjective there can be no right or wrong or good or bad. One thing I have found for certain, is, that my students who are mostly in their late teens and early twenties know what they want. Unfortunately it may not be congruent with our ideas. That is the beauty of life. You and me do not know if the same drama takes place on the other side of the border or not, which most probably it does.

Our times are done, it is these students of today who will dictate as to which path has to be trodden globally, so also which direction they will take this forever  evolving  nation. I think let the new generation have a free hand once a “Vision” is created. Let them be the designers of a new foundation along with the new buildings. Let them learn from old mistakes and their own. Let them close gaps to the front and not to their rear. Let us not keep making them look into rear view mirrors all the time in terms of our righteousness, vanity, cultural, social and religious bindings and our beliefs of what Nationalism truly consists of.

Our way of being and our actions are correlated with (responsive to) the way in which what we are dealing with occurs or shows up for us.  For example, if the way a situation we are dealing with occurs for us as threatening, our way of being and acting - that is, our mental, emotional, and bodily states, and our thoughts and thought processes, and our actions - is likely to be correlated with
(responsive to) the situation occurring for us in that way.   On the other hand, if the way a situation we are dealing with occurs for us as an opportunity to excel, our way of being and acting is likely to be correlated with the situation occurring for us in that way. Now what ever has happened in Srinagar and the Kashmir valley (possibly because of our ass **le  politicians) has shaped these kids way of being because so far the context of situations existing in the valley have  occurred to them as threatening, therefore their way of being and acting are correlated with the context or the situation. If the Sadbhavana movement by the Indian Army in the valley is seen by these students as an opportunity to excel, there way of being and acting is likely to be correlated with the situation occurring to them in that way. I really do not understand why my friends cannot appreciate these simple facts of life.

Delving into it a bit further: The students Functional Constraints (trigger able set-ways-of-being-and-acting) often seem justified and even rational at the time, and are therefore difficult for the students to recognize as a limitation on their being and action. While such limitations on the students behavior, the behavior which we term as anti National and traitorous are difficult for them to recognize in themselves and hence students are often stuck on rails. The results of the Sadbhavna rally by the Army in the valley  will give an opportunity for the students to change and may be master their Functional Constraints which have so far been dictated by our politicians mismanagement and inept handling of the situation in the Kashmir Valley.

 I think the first step to change our mind set, would be recognizing the fact, that “What was good for us in our times may not be good for them in theirs”.  After all how the world occurs to us, make our contexts and these contexts drive us. Similar is the case with the new generation. Let us not make their contexts. It would be the same as creating new buildings on old foundations, howsoever much we may feel that our foundations are the best.
Going a bit wider and looking at the state of our Nation, the above facts hit us like a sucker punch. Let the dinosaurs remain extinct in the mists of time.

IPL verses water verses sugarcane verses politicians

Good morning India. 

Mera Maharashtra Mahan!!!!

The Financial Express editorial, “IPL vs Sugarcane” (April 8) illustrates the utter stupidity of the position on holding or not holding IPL matches in drought hit Maharashtra. In reality fewer cricket matches and moving the IPL will only provide water for 400 people for half a year in Maharashtra. Will it “solve” the water shortage problem? I have no love lost to IPL a bloody den of thieves in any case. Yet I would like to look at the problem with a bit of logic and common sense.

If policymakers were serious about alleviating water shortages for the poor, they would first have to blame themselves for the stupidity, if not depravity, of the policies pursued by successive Congress Governments for decades, obviously the governments were run by partners in that crime. In particular, look at the water-guzzling sugarcane crop. In 2014-15, the estimated sugar output from Maharashtra was 10 billion kgs. Each kg of sugar uses 2,000 litres of water. In other words, the total water used for sugarcane cropping in the state was 20 trillion litres. You do the math.

In fact because of the political clout of corrupt politicians, who mostly own the sugar mills, (Nearly 60 percent pf sugar factories are owned by Ministers and politicians, this was about 10 years ago) the area under sugarcane cultivation is I think, more than six times the percentage limit laid down by the Government. Sugar crops guzzle water like the T72 Tanks of the Indian Army do diesel, more than 2 liters to 1 kilometer or whatever. The sugarcane required to produce 1 Kilogram of sugar, guzzles 2000 liters of water. Maharashtra produces 10 billion kilograms of sugar annually. So vast areas have become drought hit due to non availability of ground water. No one talks of this scene, where the fence eats the Farm.

About Krishna Valley Corporation through which again these rogue politicians made tons of money is not mentioned at all. If this entity had carried out the entrusted job of making check dams and others, droughts would have been a thing of the past. A staggering Rs 35,000 crore was siphoned off and wasted on dud irrigation projects in the past decade. The Maharashtra government has spent Rs 70,000 crore on such projects across the state during this period.The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar was the irrigation minister of Maharashtra during 1999-2009. On 25 April 2008, Deputy Secretary TN Munde issued a circular stating that the Irrigation Department was making exorbitant payments for the various raw materials and components, instead of following the scheduled rates fixed by the department. On 14 May 2008, Pawar's office issued a letter asking Munde to repeal the circular, and cautioned him against issuing any circular without the minister's sanction.

Tonight on Times Now Arnab was trying to act like holier than thou and not allowing sane voices to speak.He did not not have the bloody balls to question the successive governments which ruled Maharashtra since Independence and their Massive Political sugar lobbies, and siphoning off money on dud irrigation projects.

He did not wave around every 2 minutes, data sheets of sugar mills ownership papers as is his want. All of what he was doing was trying to whip up a public emotional outcry sans all valid and logical argument. Mr Arnab if you have the bloody guts question these politicians on your show and ask them their contribution towards alleviating drought like conditions in Maharashtra every few years.

The Reserve Bank of India dissolved the board of the powerful Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank, which had NCP chief Sharad Pawar's son Ajit as one of its directors, based on a NABARD report on the bank's finances which shows how factories controlled by politicians including cabinet ministers from the Congress and NCP took loans worth hundreds of crores and never paid back.

The list includes names like former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, Agriculture Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and Higher Education Minister Rajesh Tope are among Maharashtra's sugar barons whose families are linked to the fall of the Asia's largest cooperative bank.

Among the loan defaulters is a spinning mill controlled by Congress MLC Amrish Patel, which owes the bank Rs. 182 crore; a sugar factory controlled by the family of Agriculture Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil which has not repaid a loan of Rs. 175 crore; a sugar factory controlled by the family of former CM Ashok Chavan which still owes Rs. 31 crore; Forest Minister Patangrao Kadam's factory which has not paid back nearly Rs. 100 crore and a factory controlled by Water Resources Minister Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar which has defaulted on a loan of Rs. 16 crore. Here are the names of the Politician sugar mill owners who produce sugar using 200 litres of water per kg. Maharashtra produces 10 billion kgs of sugar every year at an expense of 20 trillion liters of water. What are you talking about Arnab? Trains of 5 lac litres of water? a few tankers here and there?

SUBHASH DESHMUKH

BJP; won Solapur South

Lokmangal Group; 3 mills; 1.43 lakh tonnes in 2013-’14

AJIT PAWAR

NCP; won Baramati

Shri Ambalika Sugar, Daund Sugar, Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills (combined output 2.28 lakh tonnes) have directors said to be linked to him

RAJENDRA PAWAR

Ajit’s cousin, Sharad Pawar’s nephew

Baramati Agro mills, Indapur and Kannad; 86,891 tonnes

NITIN GADKARI

BJP; union transport minister

3factories; 61,933 tonnes

VINOD TAWDE

BJP; won Borivali

Shreenath Mhaskoba Mill, Daund; 41,155 tonnes

SIDDHARAM MHETRE

Congress; former state minister

Matoshri Laxmi Sugar, Akkalkot; 57,500 tonnes

PRUTHVIRAJ DESHMUKH

BJP; lost to Cong’s Patangrao Kadam in Palus-Kadegaon

Cane Agro Energy, Kadegaon; 55,064 tonnes

BABASAHEB MOHANRAO PATIL

NCP; lost to Independent Vinayakrao Jadhav Patil in Ahmadpur

Siddhi Sugar, Ujana; 53,735 t

RATNAKAR MANIKRAO GUTTE

Rashtriya Samaj Paksha candidate in Gangakhed; lost

Gangakhed Sugar & Energy; 54,950 tonnes

BABANRAO SHINDE

NCP; won Madha

Vitthalrao Shinde Cooperative Factory, Madha

SANJAY SHINDE

Babanrao’s brother

Vitthal Corporation Mill

DILIPRAO DESHMUKH

Vilasrao Deshmukh’s brother

Jagruti Sugar & Allied Industries, Deoni

PATANGRAO KADAM

Congress; won Palus-Kadegaon

Sonhira Cooperative, Kadegaon

MOHANRAO KADAM

Patangrao’s brother

Udgiri Sugar & Power

BABANRAO PACHPUTE

BJP; former NCP minister; lost in Shrigonda

Shri Saikrupa Sugar, Shrigonda

IF YOU SEE SOMEBODY WITHOUT A SMILE TODAY GIVE THEM ONE OF YOURS

Good Morning India.....

"Memories"

When as a second Lieutenant after the India Pakistan War of 1971, our unit had yet to be be pulled back in 1972, from our war zone deployment. After early breakfast as usual in our underground bunker mess at Patti in Punjab, all 4 of us youngsters in the Signal Regiment used to gather around a small transistor (Radio receiver as it was then known). Without fail every day as a prayer. Why? First to listen to the news in the early morning BBC service for we did not believe All India Radio as it dished out a lot of crap. Second to listen to the Voice of America breakfast show host "Pat Gates". She was truly amazing. What made our day was the way she would end the program so lustily "If you see somebody without a smile today give them one of yours", and that truly made our day............

Celebrated Voice of America Breakfast Show host Pat Gates Lynch died after a struggle with cancer on 04 Dec 2011 at her home in Fort Belvoir retirement community. . From the mid-50s until the seventies then later again after a small gap, Pat served as host and interviewer on the VOA Worldwide English Breakfast Show, The daily news-and-interview program was heard by tens of millions of listeners around the world. . She interviewed presidents, prime ministers and many famous figures in the arts and music during those years. Long-time VOA listeners will remember Pat Gates' signature sign-off. She'd thank you for listening, and then remind you, "if you see someone without a smile, give him one of yours." This is Pat Gates signing off.

Sometimes one remembers things which happened years and years ago from the mists of time as if it was just yesterday. I am sure Techie Anand, Pandit Sharma (no more) and Viru Sareen will always remember those days of being subalterns, and the sweet voice of Pat Gates which filled us with total positivity to face the grind of a war torn unit every day..

Dress codes and sandwiches......... National Law School........

NLS prof slut-shaming student in shorts is not surprising: It shows how India's premier law school behaves like a khap panchayats.

http://www.firstpost.com/india/nls-prof-slut-shaming-student-in-shorts-is-not-surprising-it-shows-how-indias-premier-law-school-behaves-like-a-khap-panchayat-2720450.html

On seeing the girl wearing shorts in her class, the professor chose to make this sartorial choice an issue of sexuality saying: "We all know why parents marry their children off - so that they can have sex. Just because the parents marry off their children for this reason, it does not mean that the children have sex in front of their parents." When the student in question objected to this statement the professor is reported to have shot back "You can come to class without a dress also. That is how your character is, I'm going to ignore you".

I have seen this kind of behavior by faculty in some of the colleges I teach. However this so called problem has been got around by having a dress code. However the fact remains that the generation gap is too wide to be bridged. Girls have come to me with dress issues along with related problems as I was also looking after their personal welfare.

The older generation tends to forget that civilization and social conditions cannot remain static, they are constantly evolving. Basically its a question of Social, Cultural and religious bindings experienced by the older generation which cannot view their off springs breaking out of these. Our perception of something determines how we relate to that thing. It is a subjective experience of something hence there is no right or wrong nor can we correct our perception. “Our Perceptions build maps in our heads: What things are or realities. What things should be – Our values. We interpret everything we experience through these mental maps without questioning their accuracy”.

The myriad of experiences one grows through, may they be religious, cultural, social and many others jell into ones nature and behavior patterns and finally contribute to our glasses of perceptions as to how the world is (our world view) and then maybe how it should be. One can understand the above as “Perceptual Restraints”. To further explain “Restraints”. If you go to an Indian village, you will often find a bull tethered with a long rope to a stake dug into the ground. Now as far as the bull is concerned, his reality is only a circle, radius of that circle being the length of the rope he is tied by. Since the bull's experience is limited to that circle, the bull is unaware of the rivers, the oceans and the mountains and the world which exists beyond that circle. This is a classic case of a "Perceptual Restraint". The restraint in this case being the length of the rope.

If in the same village a foreigner, a girl, enters wearing shorts, the villagers might stone her, or hand her over to the police for indecency. The villagers cannot accept this clothing because they are experiencing a cultural restraint, although by no means it will be called indecent in her country.

The older generation tends to forget that man evolved from an ape, evolution is a constant change and asking the present generation to emulate their times aka 50's or 60's vintage behaviors, is like going back from Man to monkey, a kind of reverse evolution.

During my interaction with parents, I ask them to imagine that say in 400-500 years what would be the scene. Earth cannot sustain this booming population. Most probably civilization would have evolved to a central earth government. Their would be no such thing as marriage and families, as earth would be one extended family. The limited resources will be diligently governed and allotted by the state. The state after due genetic testing will most likely send a male and a female to live together for some period to mate and produce off spring and return to their respective places of work. The off spring male or female would go into state care, to be genetically tested for special qualities and propensity towards specific activities, there after the child would be educated and trained accordingly.

In this kind of scenario which we are fast approaching, where would you be with your unhappiness of girls wearing shorts and having living in relationships? It is no longer a question of control verses freedom. Its a question of evolution of coming generations to a certain level which would be required for mankind to sustain itself on this Earth. Here we tend to mix up social, religious and cultural bindings with values, as discussed earlier. In India we are extremely, very extremely if I can use that expression, far away from these realities I have discussed above. In fact if one of our local moral brigades read this may be I will be stoned on the streets of Pune.

It is time to understand where civilization is heading towards. It is also time to understand that every soul or the inner self has a right to undergo certain experiences which will help it to evolve as our creator planned. Why do people want to deprive evolving souls their experiences of being earthly beings?

Its time for a fundamental change in our Thinking, Emotions and Behavior patterns or the older generation is doomed.

THE ART OF DOING NOTHING OR SITTING SILENTLY

1. This is the art of doing nothing.

2. Can be done very easily by everybody. It does not take up too much time. It is required to be done 3 times a day for 20 minutes at a time.

3. Benefits : Relaxes the body, the brain/intellect and helps to alleviate all kinds of Stresses. This sitting silently allows the body to get rid of stress producing hormones and proteins like Cortisol and DEOH. Plus it also helps in producing Serotonin which is the chemical which makes us feel happy and joyful. Most importantly it gives rest to the mind. Meaning it carries out maintenance of our thinking mind. Further you will find that over a time you will require less sleep at night. Importantly you will train your thinking mind to let go of thoughts ( let thoughts come and go), and not react every time. So in your day to day life you will not react to negative experiences, those are also finally thoughts. These thoughts will come again but now you will not react but respond logically.

4. While sitting silently for 20 minutes we will not focus on anything, or on any thoughts. It is simply an art of doing nothing.

5. Remove your belt so that you are comfortable. Remove your glasses. Sit in a straight backed chair your buttocks touching the back of the chair. You must have support for your back.  Ankles crossed. Sit straight. However your head should be slightly bent forward from the neck to attain a comfortable position. Keep your hands in your lap, palms facing upwards, the palm of your right hand sitting in the palm of your left. If the chair has arm rests you may rest your elbows on the rest if you feel comfortable otherwise need not. Now close your eyes. Please tell your family members or friends not to disturb you in any way for 20 minutes. If anything is urgent they must only tap you on the head. You may come out of silence as explained later.

6. Relax your feet and toes, then your ankles, then calf muscles, then your thigh muscles, then your stomach, chest, shoulders, neck, arms, wrists and hands. Sit silently in this state. Let your thoughts come and let them go. Do nothing, do not try to stop your thoughts importantly do not get involved in your thoughts, let them come and let them go. Even sounds or smells from outside are thoughts let them come and let them go. Example a thought comes to you that you have to ring up your boss at 8 o clock about an important client message, now don’t start thinking what will the boss say, can you keep the client happy etc. That is getting involved, let that thought come and let it go. Similarly you hear a motor cycle horn outside don’t get involved in the sound by thinking who must it be now in the morning etc. let it come and let it go. Just do nothing. 

7. In the beginning there will be hundreds of thoughts coming and going gradually they will reduce and you will have periods without any thoughts. Starting maybe 10-15 secs you will have no thought periods, slowly over the days , weeks, months, years these periods without thoughts will increase. We have to achieve nothing, nothing will happen, do not have expectations as to this will happen or that will happen. Just continue 3 times a day for 20 minutes. If your head bends forward more let it. No problems. But do not let it bend backwards and take support/rest against a wall or something, the moment your head gets support/rests against a wall you might fall asleep. You may fall asleep initially if you are too stressed. Do not worry when you wake up don’t get up suddenly you may feel groggy, continue sitting silently till your 20 minutes are up.

8.  Coming out of silence. Initially you can set your mobile or clock alarm for 20 minutes. After some practice you will automatically know that 20 minutes are up. For coming out of silence, do not open your eyes. Move your hands first, rub your palms against each other, wipe your face with your hands, then wipe your arms and wrists, stretch your hands to the front once or twice. Then slowly blink your eyes 3-4 times, close them again for a few seconds then again open them very slowly. If you feel like sitting sit there for 3-4 minutes before getting up do sit.

9. Conditions. There are’nt too many conditions. You must be a little bit hungry and a little bit tired that’s all. Therefore the right times are just before you have breakfast, before lunch and before dinner in the evening. You can practice this type of silence in a train, a bus or anywhere. There are no conditions except you must have some support/rest for your back. People at home or in office may make fun of you, do not worry. In the office you can easily spend 15- 20 minutes of your lunch time for meditating before lunch. It does not take more than 15 minutes to have lunch. This will be time well spent than just gossiping. 
Others will soon follow you.

You can use some music to initially help you with sitting silently. It is a 20 minute cut from Ganapati Sachidanand Swami's Celestial Message in his Music for meditation collection. You can down load from here

https://sites.google.com/site/ajayukidve/mp3

The Beauty of sedition : Modern India

Good Morning India......

Reading the transcript of a lecture/blog by Iftar Reheman a Begusarai student was like a breath of fresh air for me. Was

tired of the poop filled bilge being pumped out by wimps and

Prestitutes for the last month. 

All talking about freedom of thought and speech to the point of declaring that the Indian Constitution has granted an Indian National the liberty to vent  anti National rhetoric supporting Terrorists and the enemies of this nation.

If somebody responded to them, these SOB's called us as Facists.

An approximate translation from the Hindi.

Iftar Reheman a student from Begusarai in Bihar, replied to Kanhaiya Kumars rantings at the JNU rally. He said: Are you not free? Do you again want freedom? Along with some politicians, MP's and Ministers who seek to advance their own interests want freedom? Stop this bloody drama.

I think it is too much now, this drama of  Independence, independence, independence in every sentence you utter, you treacherous bastards, traitors, enemies of this country. If your sons and daughters had  been martyred to obtain independence for India, then I would have appreciated your words. But you bastard was not even worth sparing a drop of water for, when this country got its independence, you unworthy sod. 

To get independence from the  English brave hearts of this country gave their lives to run the English out. You do not consider that Independence which was obtained after such sacrifices as your very own Independence and freedom? You 2 bit worth disgraceful man and your peer politicians still see slavery in India? If this is not just a drama then what is it? You and your likes and supporters should be ashamed of yourselves who do not recognize the independence we have got and are asking for it again.

I as an Indian of an Independent India ask you, did freedom fighters like Shahid Bhagat Singh, Subhash Chandra Bose, Chandrashekhar Azad, Abul Kalam Azad, who fought for freedom for their country from the British and sacrificed their lives and obtain that freedom at great cost were they stupid fools? They must be turning in their graves hearing some people like you asking for freedom again and observing your drama. My blood boils when I see you performing this bloody drama and hear you speak.

The limits were crossed when on seeing this drama a bastard in his glee and happiness gave out a prize of  0.2 million rupees. Further some politicians, political leaders, Members of Parliament and Legislatures, those selfish to gain their own ends, called you Kanhaiya Kumar, their son. What a bloody shame. In fact one of the political Leaders called your JNU address, which was full of antinationalism and sedition as the best speech he has ever heard, what the bloody hell is happening?

Sons of this soil, after shedding their blood for our country had called themselves leaders of freedom. Yet today you and people like you call yourself leaders to divide and hack this country into pieces. I feel friends that you still consider yourselves as slaves in an Independent India, you and your likes are definitely a danger to this Nations well being.

Right now I do not want to say anything, but remember you traitors, the day I feel you and people like you to further their personal and political interests, put my Country in danger, make it weak and try to bring disgrace to its good name, on that day I shall wear a shroud on my head. Even if my own my very own try to endanger my country even they will not be spared by me and I shall behead them by chopping off their heads.

To defend the well being, Integrity and welfare of our Nation, is the first duty of all the youth of this country. I will not allow those Martyrs who have laid down their lives to obtain freedom for our country to be disappointed. I request the youth of this country not to pay attention to the drama creators and defend our country from such people. If these kind of traitors and anti nationals are given a free hand then the day is not far off, when an Independent India will soon really lose its independence.

Will you put India again into slavery? If not then get ready to join the movement of "Save India" from these traitors and anti Nationalists. My "save India movement has started today"

Iftar Reheman

Begusarai.

Bihar

Another Character some Mr. Tunku Vardarajan who is a Fellow of Virgin Hobbs Carpenter at Stanford University sorry Virginia, also hails Kanhaiya "if not for his politics, then certainly for the eloquence of his language." Hails his speech as "Pure protest poetry". He further clams that "Incurring the wrath of an obtuse Home Minister and a dopey but pernicious Police Commisioner of Delhi; and of a tinpot Nationalist news anchor who disregarded the truth in a peerless display of hysteria." A British citizen, Varadarajan lives in Brooklyn with his wife Amy Finnerty and their three children. He was born in India, attended Mayo College Ajmer, went to Oxford University UK, became a British Citizen and is now settled in the US. So what Nationalism can this gentleman understand?

I think such people who are far removed from the reality of what India is and stands for, should remain in the hallowed portals of the Hoover Institution of a hypocrite Country.This country forced exodus of Africans to the Americas during the brutal Middle Passage of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, and the voluntary migration of Black residents who moved from southern farms and towns to northern cities in the early 1900s in search of “the warmth of other suns.” A third African-American migration story–just as epic, just as grave–hovers outside the familiar frame of our historical consciousness. The iconic tragedy of Indian Removal: the Cherokee Trail of Tears that relocated thousands of Cherokees to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), was also a Black migration. Slaves of Cherokees walked this trail along with their Indian owners.

In 1838, the U.S. military and Georgia militia expelled Cherokees from their homeland with little regard for Cherokee dignity or life. Families were rousted out of their cabins and directed at gunpoint by soldiers. Forced to leave most of their possessions behind, they witnessed white Georgians taking ownership of their cabins, looting and burning once cherished objects. Cherokees were loaded into “stockades” until the appointed time of their departure, when they were divided into thirteen groups of nearly 1,000 people, each with two appointed leaders. The travelers set out on multiple routes to cross Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas at 10 miles a day with meager supplies.

At points along the way, the straggling bands were charged fees by white farmers to cross privately owned land. The few wagons available were used to carry the sick, infant, and elderly. Most walked through the fall and into the harsh winter months, suffering the continual deaths of loved ones to cold, disease, and accident. Among these sojourners were African Americans and Cherokees of African descent. They, like thousands of other Cherokees, arrived in Indian Country in 1839 broken, depleted, and destitute. After all this the US has the gumption to tell us about freedom of speech and thought? A country which is now going for "Haaz" to redeem the sins of its forefathers?

Let me see this gentleman holding a rally in Stanford University and shouting. ' Death to America, Long live Al Kaida, let us celebrate Osama bin Laden's martyrhood.'' I think the FBI will chop his head off or whisk him away to unknown destinations. Afzal Guru the enemy of India a criminal a terrorist got a fair trial in India. Whereas a hit team was used to kill Osama bin Laden. Now when I say this these hypocrites turn around and say" No that was different you don't understand". I don't understand indeed.....

What pride what nationalism? A pseudo political parade of Orators and their spoons under guise to dislodge a government voted into power by the people of this country.