Enigma Solution

 Experience and knowledge which usually comes with age and tells us what has happened. So we form strong opinions on what works and what does not, what is good or what is bad. We become fixed in our mind and we rigidly assume what happened in the past will happen in the future.  In a sense we believe we have arrived at that intellectual destination where we smugly feel that we need little or no new learning. Almost impossible for adults to imagine a future much different from the past and the present. This is the exact opposite of the inherent childlike trait we all possess. A child is intensely curious, full of ideas,  fantasies and dreams.  The wise say 'Imagination is more powerful than knowledge'. While our knowledge is limited, our imagination can be infinite.  The young imagine more and thus have dreams so fantastic that the old cannot even begin to comprehend.  Where the mind goes so the body easily follows provided there is passion and sincerity. ...

  It is in the human nature for us to seek success, happiness and love. In this endeavour we live, work and play, constantly interacting with our fellow beings and our environment.  Every interaction, triggers within us, some physical, intellectual and emotional reaction. This we commonly term as experience. If we merely register and do not learn, transform or evolve, from the interactions and the reactions, then we can only call them incidents, not experiences. Our reactions represent the lowest level of human intelligence, whereas our responses indicate the level of our intelligence. What then is the difference?  A reaction is immediate and originates from our animal instincts of fight or flight. Whereas a response comes from the measured and timely application of the mind with awareness. This is why the first prayer of a seeker is to develop an awakened mind. Materially speaking if we do not do anything, then there is nothing to be aware of. So the most experienced peo...

Truth is a powerful concept. That is why it is often overused, misused and abused. Truth could be defined as thoughts, beliefs, words or deeds, that conform to some predefined standard. But, who sets the standard of what is true or how do we conclude if something is true? There are six common criteria used for determining the truth. They are are consensus, consistency, authority, durability, revelation and science. __________________ 1. Consensus Common knowledge or herd behaviour assumes that if everyone says so, then it must be true. This requires little or no effort, it is the preferred filter for the intellectually and spiritually lazy, inferior or timid, individual and society. Consensus is a safe bet. Even if proven wrong the person can always take shelter within the anonymous majority. They contend that so many people cannot be stupid or wrong. Wars, fads of all kinds social, economic, and political are the frequent result of consensus. 2. Consistency Consistency assumes that if...

There is so much beauty, and wonder in the universe, but it seems, we spend most of our lives, wondering, 'What is wrong with the world?' Nothing and yet everything. Nothing is wrong with Nature and Creation, its exquisite and unfathomable. So what we do not understand, we condemn. Humankind, now that is a completely different matter, for here, everything seems to be wrong. Which leads us to the question, 'What is the root cause of all that is wrong?' The 'will to power', the desperate and insatiable desire to dominate all that we humans set our eyes on or even conceive, is the root cause of human suffering. With time the methods and approach to acquiring power and dominating has changed and  grown more sophisticated. However two fundamental approaches remain unchanged, wealth and force. Both are transient, and temporary, but that has never stopped the human animal from relying on them. Unfortunately other great human qualities of friendship, compa...

30 Quotes in Praise of India For 2000 years, the great civilisations of India and China had an excellent relationship. Between them they represented 52% of global GDP.  Because of its great spirituality, and ability to continuously acquire, store, apply and transmit  knowledge very effectively, India was the elder brother in the relationship. India was the world's  greatest exporter of technology, culture, science, art, literature in addition to being a provider of high quality goods. People came from all over the world to study at India's countless Gurukuls , ashrams , universities and institutions. In spite of this incredible power, India never tried to conquer any land, seize resources use force, or coerce in any manner.  It preferred to have partners rather than vassals.  In today's age and time this may be considered foolish and  naive. But this is the nature of a civilisation, to always seek a win-win, mutually beneficial long last...

The Chinese want to be an empire and that too in a hurry. In their desperation they  have pushed the world to the brink.  There is only one empire at the present time and that is United States of America and it is under assault by the People's Republic of China who have openly declared to replace America as the world's leading superpower at all cost. With cunning and ruthlessness China was well on track.  It might have become a global empire within another 20 to 30 years. However in their desperation and over eagerness, China it seems has overplayed its hand on many fronts. Now, by triggering, concealing and manipulating a pandemic,  China has not only made its dream of empire untenable, it will probably destroy China. The world needs civilisations not empires.  Ancient China was a great civilisation but its adoption of Communism has all but destroyed its civilisational wealth. This raises a question, 'What exactly is the difference b...

With Coronavirus on the rampage and government ordered lockdown in place, many people are feeling disturbed. They  complain incessantly about the inconvenience. To them I would say, "Nothing can be more inconvenient than death". Here are some sobering facts about COVID-19 Coronavirus's trail of destruction that, at the time of writing this article. Here are the global figures, (India's figures in brackets) on the impact so far. Infections Number of Infections, currently stand at 1,014,493  (India 2,567) Numbers of infections are doubling every week.  If the disease remains unchecked and if there is widespread person to person contact, then theoretically speaking, at this rate barring those who exist in isolation the entire world's population will be infected within 14 weeks. Many people will be slightly or even completely unaware that they have been infected. They will at worst, experience some mild discomfort and go on with their normal live...

JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University)  , is one of the most prominent universities of India. It has been in the news for a long time due to everything except academics.  JNU claims it is a leading university.  For the enormous resources lavished on setting up and maintaining JNU critics point out, it has precious little positive outcomes to show for it. JNU has however distinguished itself by becoming a breeding centre for anti Indian establishment political thought and action. JNU is just an extreme example of what has become of India's premier educational institutes. How did JNU acquire this dubious distinction? In every general election, the communist political parties invariably won parliamentary seats that were not huge in number, but significant enough for the communists to make or break coalition governments. In essence the tail wagged the dog. However unlike most political parties the communists play for the long term. Misplaced as it may be, the commun...

Work never ends, especially if you are looking for it. There is always something new to be planned, and executed, or something that needs to be attended to. Such people who are obsessed with work are known as workaholics. If one is focussed, result oriented and fortunate, success is bound to come. The danger is workaholics become magnets for more work and challenges, especially if one commands  necessary resources and authority. The danger for workaholics is that they grown distant from family, friends, and even they themselves. When one is young, one possesses boundless energy and enthusiasm and one can cope with this pleasing burden. However with passage, of time one can easily get overwhelmed, as I was. To cope, workaholics recruit more people into the team. Instead of productivity and output improving, it actually decreases. This is because new recruits learn quickly that 'upward delegation' can free them from much work and responsibility. This is not on...