Warrier's Collage on Thursday August 25, 2022

Welcome To Warrier's COLLAGE On Thursday August 25, 2022 1) Cute Babies https://youtu.be/J_t376XBPfo 2) Change is life : Dr B M Hegde https://youtu.be/wBhxIW24jaE (Belle Monappa Hegde is a cardiologist, professor of medicine, and author. He was the Vice Chancellor of Manipal Academy of Higher Education from 1999 to 2003. He was awarded Padma Bhushan in 2010 and Padma Vibhushan in 2021. He has supported pseudoscientific theories of Homeopathy and quantum healing.) Good Morning 🙏 Nice Day M G Warrier Faith Dr Charan Singh https://twitter.com/CharanSingh60/status/1562171808408748032?s=20&t=AcwH1NNn8C8d6NvqL2JGog Unity in Diversity - 353 फरीदा कालीं जिनी न राविआ धउली रावै कोइ करि सांई सिउ पिरहड़ी रंगु नवेला होइ Those who did not remember God/meditate when their hair are black, very few of them will when they grey (get old) Love Lord so that your color will ever be new Farid, 1378, SGGS A Messages/Responses 1) C V Subbaraman Discriminations on the basis of castes, specially in God's Own Country (It was God's own country even in ancient times as Mahaabali is believed to have ruled the area) unacceptable. Was it in atonement that later on the first case of temple entry for all castes happened in Kerala? Subbaraman (Mahabali was also discriminated, as "Asura" King*. Such discrimination is not seen in Vedas & perhaps Upanishads 🙏-Warrier) *A related link : https://vedicfeed.com/king-mahabali-great-asura-king/ 2) Dr Prabha Ramadurai When a flashlight grows dim or quits working, we don't just throw it away, we change the batteries. Similarly, when a person messes up or is in a tight situation, instead of casting them aside, we should help them change their batteries. Some need AA batteries (attention & affection), some need AAA (attention, affection & acceptance) some need C (compassion), some need D (Direction). And if they still don't seem to shine, simply sit with them quietly & share your light. 3) V T Panchapagesan Shared a memory : Commonsense When I was working in Bombay, there was a problem in Garment House which had to be settled. Being technical in charge, I was asked to settle the issue. Nelco and CMC were the two big clients, each claiming and blaming the other. Purely technical issues, to deal with which I was not conversant, but nevertheless problem was to be solved by me. I arranged Executive Lunch in RBI for them and we were talking in general and during the course I grasped the problem which could be resolved by some adjustments here and there. I took the initiative with some tact putting some sweet words on both sides solving it amicably. Commonsense plays a major part, if only we analyse with perception in thinking, shedding our ego. Reflect your ideas reflecting it without animosity, keeping both the sides equal, maintaining equilibrium. V T Panchapagesan AA Poem : Franklin Misquith Our heart and brain we need to retrain, As they are subjecting themselves, To unnecessary strain, When either of them stick to the right lane, Neither of them would like, Either one to be slain, All this trouble 'll go in vain, By inhaling in, and exhaling out It'll recharge each and every artery and vein, Thus both and heart and brain 'll, Find it easy to remain sane. Since the time we've all been besieged by Covid19, We're on the way to becoming insane. Those who have given up home, End their lives by jumping from a height, Or leaping into a drain. Daily we have perforce to listen to the same refrain, 'Tis better we work at a mill churning out flour from grain, If one's better half is little better than a pain, Either one can sit on a chair and look out of a window pane, Or feel sheer delight, When there is a light shower of rain. B Media Response : M G Warrier August 24, 2022 Beyond defining freebies* This refers to the report "All parties on one side, everybody wants freebies : SC" (August 24). As the Apex Court Expert Panel is likely to cover all aspects of freebies, it would be premature to comment on the merits and demerits of freebies at this point in time. Still, the concerns expressed by the highest court cannot go unnoticed. The issue involves appropriation of taxpayers' money for political gains, in the guise of welfare measures. There's a similar vice growing in the corporate world which relates to marketing expenses. The huge advertisement and promotion costs are factored in, in the MRPs. Fair enough. But the play with discounts, "Take one, get one free", lotteries linked to sale etc confuse customers and mislead genuine buyers. Overall, time is opportune for an overhaul of our costs and prices scenario along with lags in government's own resources management, which allows diversion of revenue for political advantage. M G Warrier Mumbai *Published in The Hindu Business Line dated August 25, 2022 : https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article65807011.ece C Reflections on Reflections : Vathsala Jayaraman Today's Collage had a small interesting bit on mirror. Though different cultures independently created reflective mirrors at various times throughout history, nature should perhaps be crowned as the true inventor of the looking glass. The very first mirrors most probably were quiet pools of water and rock or clay containers of water,. Initially mirror was seen an object of terror, rather than fascination. A funny story about the first mirror. ( published in Malayala Manorama) 40 years back. An old man got a mirror first. He saw his own image. He thought there was a wise man with a beard. He kept the mirror inside a box and started worshipping the wise Godman daily secretly. One day his wife suspected of the secret activity. Without his knowledge she opened the box and found an old lady with grey hair. She suspected of the illegal connection and complained to her DIL. The DIL found a young lady inside the mirror. She thought that her FIL is having connection with a young woman and MIL wants to hide. The lady narrated everything to her husband who on seeing his own image into the mirror started suspecting his wife's integrity and raised many questions about the young man. They started quarrelling with each other. The young boy of 7 who was witnessing all these quarrels, just opened the box, took away the unique object. Thatha came to catch hold of him. In his hurry, the strange object broke to pieces. Everyone took a piece, and on analysis found out the truth on mirrors. But the little mirror seems to be a great teacher. All of us are just mirrors to one another. If there is a small dirt or scar, the mirror reflects the same. It does neither enlarge nor minimize the defect. In the same way when we point out the defects in others, it should be true. It is not to be exaggerated or undermined depending on the relationship. The mole is not be picturised as a mountain. When you stand before the mirror, it points out the drawbacks. When you go away from the mirror, it just keeps quiet. The same is expected of human beings. Any defect can be pointed out to the person direct, no gossiping behind the back. Continued at H 1 D Babusenan's Column Caste Hate (Continued from Collage 225/2022) Adverse criticism did not deter Asan from poetic utterences against communal discrimination, whenever occasions arose. In 1921, when the Mappilla rebellion broke out in the Malabar region of Kerala, he found enough material to write a long poem. We know that the rebellion was mainly against the British, especially against their brutally oppressive measures to quell the Khilafat movement. It was also against the feudal lords who happened to be mostly upper caste Hindus. Continued at H 2 E Vathsala Jayaraman's Column More on Quantum Theory Quite interesting was the interaction with Mahaswami about Rig Veda and positive and negative energy. Here are a few extracts of Western minds. Westerners have taken more interest in culling the facts from various Upanishads and openly declare that they have not found out anything new. The convergence of Spirituality and Science In the 1920’s quantum mechanics was created by the three great minds: Werner Heisenberg, Niels Bohr and Erwin Schrödinger, who all read from and greatly respected the Vedas, the ancient Indian sanskrit texts on spirituality. Continued at H 3 F Leisure 1) Simple Arithmetic* Some of you would have heard this story. There was an Arab who left 17 Camels as inheritance to his 3 sons. As per the Will, half of them to his first son, one third for the second son & one ninth to the third son. After his death the children were fighting for the fraction, which was impossible. A wise man who was a friend of the dead man came along and decided to mediate. He added one of his camels to the group. Now 18 is divided easily as per will as 9,6 & 2. The children are happy. But 9+6+2 = 17 only. The wise man took his camel back and walked away. *Shared by T R Suresh Bangalore (Moral : You don't always lose something by extending a helping hand ✋-Warrier) 2) Live Rich* Most of the Indian Senior Citizens die rich but they do not live rich. The younger generation is moving away from Real Estate, whereas the Seniors are still engrossed emotionally in Real Estate. The Seniors have built houses not only for themselves but also for their children, and even for those who have settled abroad or outside their home state. The next generation is least interested in these houses. They have no time to look at these gigantic properties. The next generation is very asset light. One such Senior Citizen died at the age of eighty five. His wife had already passed away a few years ago. One son lives in London and the other one lives in New Zealand. They have the nationality of those countries. Neither was interested in the house their father had built when they were younger. The father had written a Will before his death to divide all the property equally between his two children. The sons did not have the time or the inclination to get the property transferred in their names and then sell it. Both of them made a power of attorney to sell the property in someone's name. Thereafter the proceeds from the sale of the property were sent to their home country. Our second traditional investment is in Gold and Silver items. Investing in Gold and Silver is often very emotional. This is done in the form of ornaments for daughters-in-law or for grandchildren, instead of buying pure gold. The new generation often does not like old fashioned jewellery items. As such, they are broken down into new designs. It goes back and forth. The new generation prefers to wear imitation or fake jewellery rather than genuine jewellery. In some countries, gold is kept in pure form as an investment and a very little quantity in jewellery items. The third emotional investment is children's higher education. Occasionally, senior citizens take out loans for their children's higher education by cutting down on their hobbies/needs. When the children get jobs, they pay off those debts but in some cases the parents have to repay these loans. Going beyond this, some Seniors are investing in policies or other investments to facilitate education for their grandchildren. Taking out a loan for children's education is understandable but why invest in grandchildren's education now, especially when your children have already started investing in SIPs for their children's higher education? What is our mindset? We don't want to ask for any financial help from our married children but we feel that taking care of our grandchildren is our responsibility! You thought about your children when they were growing up. Why are you now thinking of your grandchildren in your old age? Your lifespan is increasing. Your costs are rising. Think about it. Do not forget your own pleasure while thinking of others. Live life for yourself. It is rightly said that most Indians spend miserly all their lives and make the next generation rich. So, If you are over 60, and are now 65 due to the fact that life expectancy has increased a little, live your life well. Spend on your hobbies and fulfil your Wish List, so that you live rich and don't just die rich! 🙏 *Shared by S Valsala Devi Thiruvananthapuram 3) THE GIFT* A few years ago, the terrorist organization Hamas, sent a gift to the President of Israel in an elaborate box with a note. After having the box checked for safety reasons, the President of Israel, Shimon Peres, opened the box and saw that the content was faeces (shit). He opened the note which said "For you and the proud people of Israel." Being a wise and experienced leader, he decided to reciprocate. And he promptly sent Hamas a very pretty package and a note. The leaders of Hamas were very surprised to receive the parcel . They opened it very carefully suspecting that it might even contain a bomb. But to their surprise , they saw that it contained a tiny computer chip. The chip was rechargeable with solar energy, had a 1800 Terabyte memory and could output a 3D hologram display capable of functioning in any type of cellular phone, tablet or laptop. It was one of the world's most advanced technologies, Invented and produced in Israel. The accompanying note stated very courteously... " A leader can give only what his people can produce " How to deal with insults is one of the best lessons one can learn , to lead a better life. *Forward received from T R Suresh Bangalore G Quotes on cute babies https://parenting.firstcry.com/articles/baby-quotes-100-adorable-quotes-for-your-little-one/ Like : “People who say, they sleep like a baby, usually don't have one.” “If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?” “I always wondered why babies spend so much time sucking their thumbs. Then I tasted baby food.” H 1) Continued from C When a mirror shows some stains or dirt, we don't get angry with the mirror. We feel happy in finding out and try to clean and rectify. But on many occasions when we are not satisfied with our looks, we try to blame the mirror and try to clean the dirt. So also we get irritated, become emotional and in our anger and revenge we try to paint the person with the same blemish. Mirror is not only an inseparable part of make-up kit , but a great architectural device to make a small hall look grand, especially in textile showrooms. Vaasthu Sastra uses the mirror as an important remedial measure. When due to space constraint, the stair case is necessarily built ina place against vaasthu sastra, a large mirror is placed in the landing space to counter the evils. Yoga classes conducted in halls provided with big mirrors help students with accuracy in postures. Usage of mirror in medical science in pain management of cancer patients and patients with amputated limbs. The discovery of "mirror Neurons" in our brain is a landmark achievement in restoring normal movement of artificial limbs. The mirrors convey what is known as 'bimba pratibimba Nyayam' in spirituality, the bimba representing God and so many pratibimbas representing human creations created with divine attributes. The mirrors placed opposite to each other on either side of the decorated deity in Hindu temples is not only amzing with infinite images one behind the other, but point out to the great Advaitha Siddhantha. Society is a just a mirror of the various behaviour patterns of human beings it consists of. Various ithihasas and puranas and epic are just mirror reflections of the society. Whether it is epics, mythology, science or ethics or mere common sense-there is mirror, mirror everywhere. Do you believe that a mirror can save a child? It was June 1969. My daughter, just 22 days old was sleeping on a bamboo cradle in our village home. I was all alone. It was a thatched house. Suddenly from the kitchen I sensed the haphazard swinging of the cradle. It was a big monkey sitting on the rim of the cradle. All my efforts to drive the monkey proved futile. Suddenly the monkey took the baby biting the araignaan rope (a black rope tied around the waist of the child), jumped out and ran towards the backyard. My imagination ran riot. The favourable spot for the monkey used to be the concrete slab on the top of the well, to which the pulley was fixed. Suddenly I got a flash! My mother had told long back that monkeys think that they are the most beautiful creatures in the world and they enjoy seeing their image inside the mirror. I ran inside, brought a mirror, went near the monkey and by vociferous signals attracted the monkey. It was just two steps to reach the well. With prayer in mind and posing to be brave, I just waived the mirror in front of its face. God was really merciful. The monkey just turned, became inquisitive about its image, dropped the baby on the mud near the parapet wall. I just threw the mirror on the ground, took the baby inside and bolted the doors. It took nearly an hour to regain my breath.It was a rebirth to the child. Our education, degrees or our official positions may not be of any help on such occasions. Only our common sense, samayochitha buddhi and swiftness matter a lot. By divine grace we should get at the correct idea and implement it in right time, right speed and appropriate manner. A valuable lesson taught by a mirror! Vathsala Jayaraman 2) Continued from D During the rebellion, a Namboodiri girl, Savitri by name, escaped from the rioters and took refuge in the humble hut of a Pulaya youth. She married him ultimately, that being, perhaps, the only thing she could reasonably do. This was the basic plot of Asan's 1700 lines long poem 'Duravastha'(The Bad Condition) He reminds the readers : "In this garden of the Lord, there are big and small flowers, but remember, He, the Gardener, loves all flowers equally." Asan uses the poem as a platform to remind the lawgivers and religious heads : "Kindly remember, the times have changed. Religious practices, the cords with which you have bound society, have already worn out" Then follows the famous poetic prophecy : "Mattuvin chattangale"(This was quoted in the previous write-up). 'Duravastha' was published in early1922. It created some controversy. The poet himself admitted that it was not very much in his line. One of his best poems on the subject appeared towards the end of the same year. It was named 'Chandaala Bhikshuki'(The Outcast Mendicant), based on a story from Prof Laxmi Narasu's book 'The Essence of Buddhism ' On a very hot day, a thirsty Ananda Bhikshu, a senior disciple of the Buddha, asked a girl, drawing water from a wayside well, to give him some water. She hesitated saying that she belonged to the 'mathanga' caste. The monk replied : "Sister, I do not ask your caste. What I ask is some water to quench my thirst." After drinking water, he said : "Lord Buddha will bless you, my child" and, with a beaming smile, he went his way. The girl could not sleep that night. The smiling face of the bhikshu refused to vanish from her mind. She was undergoing some kind of spiritual transformation and, before anyone got up, she left her hut for the Buddhist monastery in the city where the Buddha was residing. The Buddha lovingly accepted her as a disciple and sent her to where the bhikshukies were staying. This incident created a furore among the high caste people of the city. They, with the king at their head, went to remonstrate to the Buddha who, in his inimitably persuasive manner, slowly convinced them of the irrelevance of their wrath. He told them : "Caste is man's creation. One cannot locate caste in blood or bone or marrow in the body. A Chandala woman's body is not at all barren for a Brahmin's sperms. And, a Brahmin is not a swayambhoo, born all by himself. He is born exactly as a Chandala is born." Then the Buddha pointed out with emphasis : "For fools, the blunder committed yesterday becomes the practice of today. It may even become the shaastra of tomorrow. " The Blessed One wound up the discussion saying : Snehatthil ninnudikkunnoo lokam Snehatthaal vriddhi thedunnoo Sneham than sakthi jagatthil swayam Sneham thaan aanandam aarkkum Sneham thaan jeevitham sreeman Sneha vyaahathi thanne maranam (This world rises and grows from love. It is love that creates the world, nurtures it and gives it joy. Life itself is love and death is the end of love.) Critics agree that Asan dexterously used the Great Buddha to advocate his strong views about casteism. He lived just an year more. The comparatively high social indices of Kerala in many respects were mainly on account of the reform movement spearheaded by spiritual leaders, especially Sree Narayana Guru, whose two famous sayings are : "One caste, one religion, one God for man" and "Whatever be the religion, it is enough that man becomes good." The sincere efforts of many intellectuals belonging to the upper castes and the role of European missionaries in spreading general education were to be reckoned as contributory factors. The writings of the great poetic trio, particularly those of Asan, imparted tremendous momentum to the reform movement. I am aware that many things I said above are those I said before. I cannot help it as, like many of the esteemed readers, I am much disturbed by the present scenario of the dreaded Hydra of caste hate raising its hoods after 75 years of freedom! (Concluded) 3) Continued from E They elaborated upon these ancient books of wisdom in their own language and with modern mathematical formulas in order to try to understand the ideas that are to be found throughout the Vedas, referred to in the ancient Sanskrit as “Brahman,” “Paramatma,” “Akasha” and “Atman." As Schrödinger said, “some blood transfusion from the East to the West to save Western science from spiritual anemia.” TURNING TO THE VEDAS FOR ANSWERS The famous Danish physicist and Nobel Prize winner, Niels Bohr was a follower of the Vedas. He said, “I go into the Upanishads to ask questions.” Both Bohr and Schrödinger were avid readers of the Vedic texts and observed that their experiments in quantum physics were consistent with what they had read in the Vedas. Bohr, Heisenberg and Schrödinger regularly read Vedic texts. Heisenberg stated, “Quantum theory will not look ridiculous to people who have read Vedanta.” He was very interested and very open, and he told me something that I think is not known publicly because he never published it. He said that he was well aware of these parallels. While he was working on quantum theory he went to India to lecture and was a guest of Tagore. He talked a lot with Tagore about Indian philosophy. Heisenberg told me that these talks had helped him a lot with his work in physics, because they showed him that all these new ideas in quantum physics were in fact not all that crazy. He realized there was, in fact, a whole culture that subscribed to very similar ideas. Heisenberg said that this was a great help for him. Niels Bohr had a similar experience when he went to China.” Schrödinger, in speaking of a universe in which particles are represented by wave functions, said, “The unity and continuity of Vedanta are reflected in the unity and continuity of wave mechanics. This is entirely consistent with the Vedanta concept of All in One.” Quantum Mechanics In 1935, Einstein Prodolsky and Rosen challenged Quantum Mechanics on the grounds that it was an incomplete formulation. They were the first authors to recognize that quantum mechanics is inherently non-local, which means it allows for instantaneous action across arbitrarily great distances. So an action in one place can instantly influence something on the other side of the universe in no time at all. This very powerful paper (The EPR paper) explaining Quantum Entanglement changed the world and alerted us to the magical implications of quantum mechanics’ metaphysical implications. Albert Einstein regularly read the Bhagavad Gita : “When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created this universe everything else seems so superfluous. I maintain that the cosmic religious feeling is the strongest and noblest motive for scientific research.” Since scientists like Schrödinger did not possess a direct knowledge of Sanskrit to discern first-hand what the Vedic texts actually were saying, they were forced to read various translations of these great books of wisdom, such as the Upanishads. There are persons like Robert Oppenheimer who learned Sanskrit in 1933 and read the Bhagavad-Gita in the original, citing it later as one of the most influential books to shape his philosophy of life : The Vedas are the greatest privilege of this century.” My son who never even cared for Vedas or Upanishads when he was doing Engineering in India, now talks about the relation between Vedas and quantum theory after living in USA for a few years. Vathsala Jayaraman