Hi Folks,
I am sure you must have read abt this programme by Nicholas Negroponte. If you have been too busy to notice it, this is worth a read.
Abt Negroponte,
Nicholas is founder and chairman of the One Laptop per Child non-profit association. He is currently on leave from MIT, where he was co-founder and director of the MIT Media Laboratory, and the Jerome B. Wiesner Professor of Media Technology. A graduate of MIT, Nicholas was a pioneer in the field of computer-aided design, and has been a member of the MIT faculty since 1966. Conceived in 1980, the Media Laboratory opened its doors in 1985. He is also author of the 1995 best seller, Being Digital, which has been translated into more than 40 languages. In the private sector, Nicholas serves on the board of directors for Motorola, Inc. and as general partner in a venture capital firm specializing in digital technologies for information and entertainment. He has provided start-up funds for more than 40 companies, including Wired magazine.
Abt the programe,
The mission of the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) movement is to ensure that all school-aged children in the developing world are able to engage effectively with their own personal laptop, networked to the world, so that they, their families and their communities can openly learn and learn about learning.
official link - http://www.laptop.org/
I wish that this movement and other indegenious programmes like Simputer make India a better learned place.
official Link - http://www.simputer.org/
Great good luck
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Vote for Taj
Posted on 30th June 2007 at - http://www.saregamapa.rediff.com/votefortaj.html
Taj is a tomb, its an expensive monument, not only in the sense that it was adorned with gems as the folklore goes, but also it costed all the artisans the death of their art.
How can such cruel witness in Indian history be called to be a wonder of the world.
Ok, point 2 for my angst against this 7 wonders campaign is more contemporary.
I got a mail saying are you sleeping, Taj is 100 something in the ranking, and I shld wake-up and do my patriotic bit by voting at the link.
Crap, I would ask the people of India who have access to the internet to pledge rather than vote for better things like 1098 - child help, CRY - sponsor a child and any other ngo.
If India has educated folks even in the rural areas, we might all comeback from across the 7 seas forever, we dont want to comeback just to see the Taj for heavens sake. There are much better things in life.
BTW - has anyone been to Agra lately, has anyone read how the government treats the drinking water source - Yamuna for the people of Agra.
My friends, there are much better things that we all can contribute back if we really think abt.
an educated India will be strong and wise enough to discourage corrupt politicians make our nation inhabitable.
The punchline is if all Indians are educated, there will be 100 million votes than 1 million votes now. Do you think the worldcan stop us then ?
This is really food for thought
God Bless,
Gyani
Taj is a tomb, its an expensive monument, not only in the sense that it was adorned with gems as the folklore goes, but also it costed all the artisans the death of their art.
How can such cruel witness in Indian history be called to be a wonder of the world.
Ok, point 2 for my angst against this 7 wonders campaign is more contemporary.
I got a mail saying are you sleeping, Taj is 100 something in the ranking, and I shld wake-up and do my patriotic bit by voting at the link.
Crap, I would ask the people of India who have access to the internet to pledge rather than vote for better things like 1098 - child help, CRY - sponsor a child and any other ngo.
If India has educated folks even in the rural areas, we might all comeback from across the 7 seas forever, we dont want to comeback just to see the Taj for heavens sake. There are much better things in life.
BTW - has anyone been to Agra lately, has anyone read how the government treats the drinking water source - Yamuna for the people of Agra.
My friends, there are much better things that we all can contribute back if we really think abt.
an educated India will be strong and wise enough to discourage corrupt politicians make our nation inhabitable.
The punchline is if all Indians are educated, there will be 100 million votes than 1 million votes now. Do you think the worldcan stop us then ?
This is really food for thought
God Bless,
Gyani
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Life is straight as a Jeelebi
Hi Folks ,
Adapted from somewhere...amnesia..pls pardon me.
LIFE'S A TEST - AND YOU'RE GRADED ON A CURVE
At age 5, success is... not peeing in your pants.
At age 12, success is... having friends.
At age 20, success is... having a driver's license.
At age 25, success is... having sex.
At age 35, success is... having money.
At age 50, success is... having money.
At age 60, success is... having sex.
At age 70, success is... having a driver's license.
At age 75, success is... having friends.
At age 80, success is... not peeing in your pants.
Prepare your own charts and Guess where you stand now !
Adapted from somewhere...amnesia..pls pardon me.
LIFE'S A TEST - AND YOU'RE GRADED ON A CURVE
At age 5, success is... not peeing in your pants.
At age 12, success is... having friends.
At age 20, success is... having a driver's license.
At age 25, success is... having sex.
At age 35, success is... having money.
At age 50, success is... having money.
At age 60, success is... having sex.
At age 70, success is... having a driver's license.
At age 75, success is... having friends.
At age 80, success is... not peeing in your pants.
Prepare your own charts and Guess where you stand now !
Meditation
Meditation is a focusing of the mind on a single object, creating the cessation of all thought. As thoughts dissipate, the mind becomes quiet, and we are able to be fully in the present moment. The techniques of meditation are simple and easy to learn, but the ability to keep the mind focused takes time, patience and practice. The benefit of a regular meditation practice reduces stress, tension, anxiety and frustration as well as improves memory, concentration, inner peace and whole body well-being.
Simple Yogic Meditation
Sit in a comfortable position, either cross-legged on the floor or in a chair. Sit up tall with the spine straight, the shoulders relaxed and the chest open. Rest the hands on the knees with the palms facing up. Lightly touch the index finger to the thumb. Relax the face, jaw, and belly. Let the tongue rest on the roof of the mouth, just behind the front teeth. Allow the eyes to lightly close.
Breathe slowly, smoothly and deeply in and out through the nose. Let the inhale start in the belly and then rise gently up into the chest. As the breath slows and deepens, let go of any thoughts or distractions and allow the mind to focus on the breath. Feel the breath as it moves in and out of the body, feeling it move through the nose, throat, windpipe and lungs. Feel the body as it rises and falls with each breath. Bring as much of your awareness and attention to your body and breath as possible with each moment. As the thoughts return to the mind, let them go, and return the focus back to the body and breath.
Practice this meditation for 10-20 minutes. To end, gently let the eyes blink open, inhale the palms together in front of the heart, exhale and gently bow. Take a moment or two before moving on with the rest of your day.
Meta Meditation
Use this simple meditation often to create and nurture compassion in your life. This can be practiced in just a few minutes, so try to incorporate it as a part of your daily life.
Come into a comfortable seated position on the floor or in a chair. Sit with the back flat, crown of the head lifted, shoulders relaxed and chest open. Rest the hands in the lap or on the knees. Close the eyes, deepen the breath and release any thoughts from the mind. Gently repeat the following softly out loud or in your mind:
May I be safe from inner and outer harm,
May I be happy and peaceful of heart,
May my body be healthy and strong,
May my life be filled with ease.
Then you may replace the “I’s” to “you” thinking of a specific person, a
group of people or the whole planet.
Finish with a few slow deep breaths, feeling compassion, love and kindness flowing through your body. Take a moment or two before moving on with the rest of your day.
Heart Chakra Meditation
This heart chakra meditation is a simple technique to release sadness and fear and to bring compassion and love into your life.
Sit in a comfortable position, either cross legged on the floor or in a chair. Sit up tall with the spine straight, the shoulders relaxed and the chest open. Inhale the palms together and lightly press the knuckles of the thumbs into the sternum at the level of your heart (you should feel a little notch where the knuckles magically fit). Breathe slowly, smoothly and deeply into the belly and into the chest. Soften your gaze or lightly close the eyes. Let go of any thoughts or distractions and let the mind focus on feeling the breath move in and out of your body. Once the mind feels quiet and still, bring your focus to the light pressure of the thumbs pressing against your chest and feeling the beating of the heart. Keep this focus for one to five minutes.
Next gently release the hands and rub the palms together making them very warm and energized. Place the right palm in the center of your chest and the left hand on top of the right. Close the eyes and feel the center of your chest warm and radiant, full of energy. See this energy as an emerald green light, radiating out from the center of your heart into the rest of your body. Feel this energy flowing into the arms and hands and flowing back into the heart. Stay with this visualization for one to five minutes.
After you feel completely soaked with heart chakra energy, gently release the palms and turn them outwards with the elbows bent, the shoulders relaxed and the chest open. Feel or visualize the green light love energy flowing out of your palms out into the world. You can direct it towards specific loved ones in your life or to all sentient beings.
To end your meditation, inhale the arms up towards the sky connecting with the heavens and exhale lower the palms lightly to the floor connecting with the earth. Take a moment or two before moving on with the rest of your day.
Simple Yogic Meditation
Sit in a comfortable position, either cross-legged on the floor or in a chair. Sit up tall with the spine straight, the shoulders relaxed and the chest open. Rest the hands on the knees with the palms facing up. Lightly touch the index finger to the thumb. Relax the face, jaw, and belly. Let the tongue rest on the roof of the mouth, just behind the front teeth. Allow the eyes to lightly close.
Breathe slowly, smoothly and deeply in and out through the nose. Let the inhale start in the belly and then rise gently up into the chest. As the breath slows and deepens, let go of any thoughts or distractions and allow the mind to focus on the breath. Feel the breath as it moves in and out of the body, feeling it move through the nose, throat, windpipe and lungs. Feel the body as it rises and falls with each breath. Bring as much of your awareness and attention to your body and breath as possible with each moment. As the thoughts return to the mind, let them go, and return the focus back to the body and breath.
Practice this meditation for 10-20 minutes. To end, gently let the eyes blink open, inhale the palms together in front of the heart, exhale and gently bow. Take a moment or two before moving on with the rest of your day.
Meta Meditation
Use this simple meditation often to create and nurture compassion in your life. This can be practiced in just a few minutes, so try to incorporate it as a part of your daily life.
Come into a comfortable seated position on the floor or in a chair. Sit with the back flat, crown of the head lifted, shoulders relaxed and chest open. Rest the hands in the lap or on the knees. Close the eyes, deepen the breath and release any thoughts from the mind. Gently repeat the following softly out loud or in your mind:
May I be safe from inner and outer harm,
May I be happy and peaceful of heart,
May my body be healthy and strong,
May my life be filled with ease.
Then you may replace the “I’s” to “you” thinking of a specific person, a
group of people or the whole planet.
Finish with a few slow deep breaths, feeling compassion, love and kindness flowing through your body. Take a moment or two before moving on with the rest of your day.
Heart Chakra Meditation
This heart chakra meditation is a simple technique to release sadness and fear and to bring compassion and love into your life.
Sit in a comfortable position, either cross legged on the floor or in a chair. Sit up tall with the spine straight, the shoulders relaxed and the chest open. Inhale the palms together and lightly press the knuckles of the thumbs into the sternum at the level of your heart (you should feel a little notch where the knuckles magically fit). Breathe slowly, smoothly and deeply into the belly and into the chest. Soften your gaze or lightly close the eyes. Let go of any thoughts or distractions and let the mind focus on feeling the breath move in and out of your body. Once the mind feels quiet and still, bring your focus to the light pressure of the thumbs pressing against your chest and feeling the beating of the heart. Keep this focus for one to five minutes.
Next gently release the hands and rub the palms together making them very warm and energized. Place the right palm in the center of your chest and the left hand on top of the right. Close the eyes and feel the center of your chest warm and radiant, full of energy. See this energy as an emerald green light, radiating out from the center of your heart into the rest of your body. Feel this energy flowing into the arms and hands and flowing back into the heart. Stay with this visualization for one to five minutes.
After you feel completely soaked with heart chakra energy, gently release the palms and turn them outwards with the elbows bent, the shoulders relaxed and the chest open. Feel or visualize the green light love energy flowing out of your palms out into the world. You can direct it towards specific loved ones in your life or to all sentient beings.
To end your meditation, inhale the arms up towards the sky connecting with the heavens and exhale lower the palms lightly to the floor connecting with the earth. Take a moment or two before moving on with the rest of your day.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Sanatan Dharma facts & links
As promised, this post covers some good links to facts about Hinduism and some decent websites.
enjoy reading and surfing the links.
1) Historical facts about Lord Rama's existence - http://lakdiva.org/aryan/rama.html
2) Lord Rama's conquest to Lanka, Vaanar-sena (army of monkeys) built the bridge connecting India to Sri Lanka satelite images
- http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showthreaded.php?Number=461309
- http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=STS033&roll=74&frame=74
3) Sanatan Dharma -website
http://www.sanatandharm.net/
http://www.hindu.org
http://www.religioustolerance.org/hinduism2.htm
4) Online Magazines
http://www.hindusimtoday.org
http://www.hindunet.org
5) Intresting articles on Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiranjeevins
enjoy reading and surfing the links.
1) Historical facts about Lord Rama's existence - http://lakdiva.org/aryan/rama.html
2) Lord Rama's conquest to Lanka, Vaanar-sena (army of monkeys) built the bridge connecting India to Sri Lanka satelite images
- http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showthreaded.php?Number=461309
- http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=STS033&roll=74&frame=74
3) Sanatan Dharma -website
http://www.sanatandharm.net/
http://www.hindu.org
http://www.religioustolerance.org/hinduism2.htm
4) Online Magazines
http://www.hindusimtoday.org
http://www.hindunet.org
5) Intresting articles on Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiranjeevins
Faith
Dharma or Religion is to me a very personal & sacred feeling.
I have seen people of two kinds around me so far, majority being the Being born in a religion and the later minority being the converted.
Conversion is a big issue....a political winning horse for most Indian socio-economic policies and ruling politics.
I wish i can abstain from speaking about it but it would be acting blindfold to things which i can see.
I think the rise of Indian politics will need a seperate thread altogether. so let me continue with my thoughts about Faith.
Faith has different meanings in different religions.
absolute submission to religious beliefs
deliverance or salvation from mortal sins
expectation of the goodness of eden
each religion ultimately preaches the beautiful & noble thought of being dissolved into the supreme power
Sanatam dharma...thats what Hinduism was called earlier..preaches moksha.
Moksha is deliverance or salvation.
The Sacred Bhagwad Geeta is infact a tutorial on the evolution of all living beings ultimately ending in salvation.
No Being honest I have not read the Geeta till now. but i have tried to understand and summarise from various citations & excerpts.
Lord Krsna conveys this message to the bewildered warrior prince Arjuna.
The situation of Arjuna being in a dilema when he confronts his own brethren in a battlefield makes him feel guilty of fighting them.
But Krsna through Geetopdesh summarises to Arjuna that He should do his Karma* (duty)
and his karma at that moment was to win back his country from the illegal occupants - the Kauravas. The Kauravas being his brethren was secondary to his duty.
Coming back to what is the interesting part is the karma factor.
Doing one's duty and not expecting the returns, sounds un digestable in todays world right. well thats what Hindusim preaches. there are many devot hindus much more deeper into knowing the meaning of the Geeta and the various religious rites and their significance who, unfortunately miss this gist.
But thats all fair and Hinduism doesnt object.
Krsna also explained the cycle of birth-death-reincarnation and the ultimate exit of the soul aka moksha.
Various Hindu devots and gurus have interpreted this cycle and have put in their own checks and inferences.
if you do not pray to the God
if you do not practise charity to the preists
if you do not respect your elders
and a lot of other factors...your next birth is that of an animal where you might be either expected to do laborious tasks or be slaughtered for food or even be despied for what you are.
Well, this is in hinduism as preached to me by my peers. maybe i am wrong.
I find similar parlance in other religions which have given to vocabulary like - taboo, sacrilige, etc.
confess your sins & God will forgive you
fear God and ask him for atonement
all sounds similar.
In 1990's when the Ayodhya fever had gripped the Indian sub-continet, some fiery forms of Lord Rama came into being. One of the most famous being Lord Rama crossing the river saryu with his weapons ready for war. people began to associate this image of Rama and the promised mandir (temple) to be the symbols of the Ayodhya cause.
What was interesting was that the painter had add a label(in hindi) to this painting - Bhai Binu Hovey na preet.
which translates to - There is no love without fear.
strange fact but i drew a parallel to what it means to all the promises of religion mean to the rest of the world. which translated by means - You will get God's grace if you fear(respect & have faith in) him.
This is what faith means to me whichever religion it might be, whichever way it preaches its followers to practise it.
If you have faith in your God, then you will love the variety he has created around you and in the end love the man besides you.
May God be with you all the way to your journey towards moksha
Dharma* - Sanskrit defintion for Dharma is contextual and has more than a dozen meanings to it, most commonly referred meaning is Duty.
He who has faith has everything,
and he who lacks it lacks everything.
It is faith in the name of the Lord
that works wonders; faith is life
and doubt is death."
- Sri Ramakrishna
Ps- In my next few post i will try to post some facts on Hinduism, some very interesting links dedicated to Sanatan Dharama.
Keep reading and enjoy.
I have seen people of two kinds around me so far, majority being the Being born in a religion and the later minority being the converted.
Conversion is a big issue....a political winning horse for most Indian socio-economic policies and ruling politics.
I wish i can abstain from speaking about it but it would be acting blindfold to things which i can see.
I think the rise of Indian politics will need a seperate thread altogether. so let me continue with my thoughts about Faith.
Faith has different meanings in different religions.
absolute submission to religious beliefs
deliverance or salvation from mortal sins
expectation of the goodness of eden
each religion ultimately preaches the beautiful & noble thought of being dissolved into the supreme power
Sanatam dharma...thats what Hinduism was called earlier..preaches moksha.
Moksha is deliverance or salvation.
The Sacred Bhagwad Geeta is infact a tutorial on the evolution of all living beings ultimately ending in salvation.
No Being honest I have not read the Geeta till now. but i have tried to understand and summarise from various citations & excerpts.
Lord Krsna conveys this message to the bewildered warrior prince Arjuna.
The situation of Arjuna being in a dilema when he confronts his own brethren in a battlefield makes him feel guilty of fighting them.
But Krsna through Geetopdesh summarises to Arjuna that He should do his Karma* (duty)
and his karma at that moment was to win back his country from the illegal occupants - the Kauravas. The Kauravas being his brethren was secondary to his duty.
Coming back to what is the interesting part is the karma factor.
Doing one's duty and not expecting the returns, sounds un digestable in todays world right. well thats what Hindusim preaches. there are many devot hindus much more deeper into knowing the meaning of the Geeta and the various religious rites and their significance who, unfortunately miss this gist.
But thats all fair and Hinduism doesnt object.
Krsna also explained the cycle of birth-death-reincarnation and the ultimate exit of the soul aka moksha.
Various Hindu devots and gurus have interpreted this cycle and have put in their own checks and inferences.
if you do not pray to the God
if you do not practise charity to the preists
if you do not respect your elders
and a lot of other factors...your next birth is that of an animal where you might be either expected to do laborious tasks or be slaughtered for food or even be despied for what you are.
Well, this is in hinduism as preached to me by my peers. maybe i am wrong.
I find similar parlance in other religions which have given to vocabulary like - taboo, sacrilige, etc.
confess your sins & God will forgive you
fear God and ask him for atonement
all sounds similar.
In 1990's when the Ayodhya fever had gripped the Indian sub-continet, some fiery forms of Lord Rama came into being. One of the most famous being Lord Rama crossing the river saryu with his weapons ready for war. people began to associate this image of Rama and the promised mandir (temple) to be the symbols of the Ayodhya cause.
What was interesting was that the painter had add a label(in hindi) to this painting - Bhai Binu Hovey na preet.
which translates to - There is no love without fear.
strange fact but i drew a parallel to what it means to all the promises of religion mean to the rest of the world. which translated by means - You will get God's grace if you fear(respect & have faith in) him.
This is what faith means to me whichever religion it might be, whichever way it preaches its followers to practise it.
If you have faith in your God, then you will love the variety he has created around you and in the end love the man besides you.
May God be with you all the way to your journey towards moksha
Dharma* - Sanskrit defintion for Dharma is contextual and has more than a dozen meanings to it, most commonly referred meaning is Duty.
He who has faith has everything,
and he who lacks it lacks everything.
It is faith in the name of the Lord
that works wonders; faith is life
and doubt is death."
- Sri Ramakrishna
Ps- In my next few post i will try to post some facts on Hinduism, some very interesting links dedicated to Sanatan Dharama.
Keep reading and enjoy.
Friday, June 8, 2007
Crazy Patents
Hi Folks,
Just came across this site...check the link -
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/crazy.html
No wonder i know what inspires hollywood script writers to make movies like the MatriX - over loaded.
anyways I feel the sum of any sci-fi hollywood movies is..."And America, Saves the world !"
Just came across this site...check the link -
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/crazy.html
No wonder i know what inspires hollywood script writers to make movies like the MatriX - over loaded.
anyways I feel the sum of any sci-fi hollywood movies is..."And America, Saves the world !"
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