Vedanta - Be Creative in Life

SWAMI SUKHABODHANANDA





A young boy left his home in search of truth. He met many people; he became richer in awareness of his ignorance.Since people went to forests to meditate, he too went to a thick forest. He did not know how to meditate. So he screamed at the forest to give him knowledge. For years, his only mantra was screaming at the forest to give him knowledge. He believed that if you are committed, existence will help you.One day , a monk came to him.He asked, “What do you want, my son?“ “I want to know what's the meaning of life,“ he replied. “Go to the town. The first three persons that you meet will give you the meani ng of life,“ the monk replied.
The boy went to the town. The first man he met was doing carpentry work. The work. The next man he met was doing sheet metal work. The third man he met was making strings.Disappointed, he sat on the bank of a river.
Suddenly , he heard the sweet strains of violin music. Something mysterious touched him. He suddenly got the answer he was looking for and he started dancing. The carpenter was preparing the wood for a violin. The sheet metal worker was preparing metal for the violin. When wood, metal and strings came together, there was music.
Life has everything; connect the dots. You need to work out new combinations. And for that, you need creative perception. Be creative. Difficulty, seeking and discovering is joy .

the speaking tree - Why Not Let Heaven And Earth Meet?

Talk: Swami Sukhabodhananda





We have a million ways to make ourselves unhappy and remarkably few ways to make ourselves happy . On the other hand, if we can have many ways to make ourselves happy and fewer ways to make ourselves unhappy , then, life will be uplifting.Why is a person in sorrow? Why does he get trapped in sorrow?
Life is changing; it is in a flux.Happenings happen, and life is a flow.You have to accept this. When you cling to this changing world, then you are in conflict and hence in sorrow.Body is changing. Even you grow older, if you cling to the idea of being young, then you are in conflict and hence you are in sorrow. Existence has no sorrow. It is just a happening.You cling to your idea, and that idea is in conflict. Your sorrow is psychological rather than existential.
Change the way you look at life. You think the world is real in the sense you expect it to be permanent.Then you suffer. Wise people have said life is like a river. It is a flow. In language, nouns exist but in metaphysics, such nouns are only verbs. For example, people say it is a tree. But it should be `treeing' since it is growing. But language does not permit it.
Existence has become sorrow because you operate from ego. Ego is misery . Lack of clarity leads you to misery .First illusion is the world is static, and the second illusion is, `I am static'.Understand that even the `I' is a movement.
How to live a wise life?
This is an enormous topic. Let me unfold one fundamental concept, namely , `Let the earth and space meet'. Earth is the situation of life. The experience of life is like the earth. How do we meet the situation of life? We meet it with our conclusions, opinions, dogmas, fears and hurts. We are nothing but a bundle of hurts, fear, anger and expectations. Hence, the self is closed to its programming of hurt and so on.With this closed consciousness, when we meet the situations of life, symbolically called `earth', then there is bound to be disorder or conflict.
Relate directly with life
You could be working in your office, kitchen or garden, and if you don't feel a healthy attitude in what you are doing, then you are living a chaotic life. If you learn to meet the situations of life (earth) with space (consciousness) which is open, and not closed with your points of view or your hurts, then you are relating directly with life. Space has a quality of openness.Like space, are you open? Is your consciousness open? With openness, space, if you meet life, earth, then in that contact, a pure, intuitive feeling emerges.
A direct contact happens. When you meet situations of life with this openness, then you are not limited by situations. When you are not limited by situations, then you are not a victim to the situations of life. When you are not a victim, then you are a victor.
Limited by experience
Most of us are limited by an experience because the person who is experiencing ­ the experiencer ­ is limited and hence gets limited by the experience. But if the one who meets the experience is open like space, then one does not get limited by the experience. Openness has the quality of no limitation. Hence, let space and earth meet ­ then heaven and earth will meet. This is wise living.

Physics is always a gamble”

It would be most helpful to String Theory to get a clue from nature that we are going in the right direction, says Nobel laureate David Gross

String theorist and particle physicist Professor David Gross, from Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, Santa Barbara, was in India recently to participate in Strings 2015, an annual conference on String Theory, at Bengaluru. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, along with Frank Wilczek and David Politzer, in 2004, for the discovery of asymptotic freedom, which opened out the field of Quantum chromodynamics. He is also the chairperson of the advisory board of International Centre for Theoretical Sciences, Bengaluru (ICTS). Prof. Gross spoke to Shubashree Desikan about String Theory and the absurdity of retiring at 60. Excerpts:

You have been a keen observer of politics and science in the world, especially India.

I have been coming to India for around 20 years. Ten years back, India was beginning to emerge from a period of stagnation. Talking to people in the government or high up, it was clear that there was a desire to invest in education, and research in science and technology. But my colleagues here, save a few, were very pessimistic. Since then, I have been involved in helping Spenta Wadia [Director, ICTS] and his colleagues develop the ICTS here, which is a marvellous project. One of the motivations to establish the ICTS is to have an institute that brings together physicists, astronomers, cosmologists, mathematicians, biologists all under one roof, talking and helping solve questions posed by nature. I always felt India has enormous potential. Here, there is a 5,000-year-old culture with great respect for mathematics and science and, for the last century or two, a great tradition of scientific institutes.

India has mainly been a home for theory…

Theory is cheap. India has had a great tradition of excellence in mathematics and theoretical physics. Tradition and culture, and role models, are important. Experimental sciences are much more expensive, and require bigger investments. But they are absolutely necessary.

Is it possible to continue pursuing just theory and neglect experiments?

No, it’s not healthy… to some extent the world is so open that it is possible to get by for a while by borrowing innovations made elsewhere, but this must, and will, change. But this requires commitment, investment of significant resources and also having the self-confidence that one can compete at the world level. There’s absolutely no reason why you [in India] shouldn’t have that confidence.

You have been observing the changes in procedures for faculty appointments in India. Would you comment on that?

Yes, because I chair the international advisory board of the ICTS. One of the things I have observed that is most destructive and silly is the government’s policy towards early retirement. People are forced to retire here at the age of 60 [65 in some institutes]. That might have been sensible in the 1950s when people lived till 60 (laughs). But now people live till 90. It’s an incredible waste of resources. India is not a country that has a wide, deep pool of talented people, especially people who can be scientific leaders; there is an enormous shortage.

I am 74 and have no intention of retiring. Nobody wants me to retire; in fact, it’s just the opposite. It is extremely difficult to find people in their 60s, which is the optimal age at which people can assume scientific leadership.

I also feel that India is violating a fundamental human right. Age discrimination is as discriminatory as judging people by their religion, colour, race or gender. Some people at 60 have been sleeping since they were 20. Some people will go on being productive into their 90s.

What are the challenges facing String Theory?

There are many. Most useful would be to find some clue from nature as to whether we are going in the right direction. Some experimental hint as to what the right direction is would be a big help. We have these big experiments at the LHC [Large Hadron Collider]. They have discovered the Higgs particle, which is a big deal. We are waiting for them to discover other particles. They have just started to run again a few weeks ago. We are all very excited. If they discover some of the things that we have been expecting, that would be the most exciting thing. Or, if they discover something else, something unexpected, it will be even more exciting. Whatever they discover will be of interest, because it will tell us what nature is.

Is the LHC finding evidence for physics beyond the standard model?

We think that they are close to such discoveries, but so far [there is] no definitive evidence. Theorists know that there definitely has to be physics beyond the Standard Model, but the right experimental evidence has not shown up yet. But the LHC has covered less than 10 per cent of its capability. The next few years will cover the rest of it. So, it is a very exciting time.

Physics is always a gamble; it is a game of exploration. That’s the fun of it. We never know for sure what will happen. Sometimes, we theorists can anticipate, but nature is the final judge.

What gives you the energy to work in physics?

It’s fun! If I didn’t have the stamina to go on, at some point, I wouldn’t. One of my main goals in life is not to be bored. That is why physics is so attractive to me. Wonderful questions, wonderful mysteries, and often we find the answer to how nature works. Like Asymptotic Freedom and theory of the nuclear force.

When I was a student, nobody understood anything about nuclear forces. So to have the luck and experience of being able to solve that problem, and then, over the next few decades, to see the theory work is amazing. It’s hard to explain to people who don’t have a mathematical background how beautiful it is. You have both the hope and joy of discovery sometimes — that happens rarely — but there is a greater joy. You can appreciate through not just your work but the work of others, the beauty of nature. What could be better? I am a very lucky man.

shubashree.desikan@thehindu.co.in

Keywords: Nobel laureate David Gross, physics, string theory, asymptotic freedom, Quantum chromodynamics, International Centre for Theoretical Sciences, Large Hadron Collider, Shubashree Desikan

Vedanta - Education is the Key

K V REDDY





We are schooled to know about our society and nature but not about ourselves, especially the nature of our mind and our spiritual potential. Even as adults and senior citizens, we remain ignorant of the mischievousness of our mind and the magnanimity of our heart.Our outward inquisitiveness is rarely turned inward, except at moments when we are struck by grief or crisis. Even those sombre moments do not kindle inward inquiry but leave us in sad quietude. Our turbulent psyche with endless desires seeks false security through material gains and tries to escape the aching void through sensual pleasures.
We need to free our mind from limitations and desires.The psychic energy of our thoughts and emotions has to be negated for us to access the tranquil and intelligent energy in the core of our be ing. It is cellu lar transfor mation with life-sustaining biochemicals revitalised that actualises the blissful state of mind and body .
Every religion expounds this ultimate goal. In Hinduism, it is atman, or soul, in Islam it is rooh, and in Christianity it is `the holy spirit'.
Education means bringing out the potential. Our education focuses on intelligence quotient, or IQ, but overlooks the most vital spiritual quotient, or SQ. The lopsided education system leads to all-round sickness precipitated by the scourge of stress. Only by infusing SQ with IQ in education can there be hope of enlivening human nature. All the `human resource development' training programmes prove to be futile, unless the real source of humanity -that is the spirit -is developed.

ET Q&A - As Long as I am the Director, I would Like to Continue this Rule

PRADIPTA BANERJI DIRECTOR, IIT-ROORKEE





If a higher authority asks us to review the decision, we will do it.
But a review does not necessarily mean the decision will change

IIT-Roorkee made history of sorts by expelling six per cent of its first year batch this week for poor performance. This may have sparked protests on campus, but institute director Pradipta Banerji told ET's Ritika Chopra that he stands by the decision. Edited excerpts:Will IIT-Roorkee reconsider the decision if the HRD ministry intervenes?
The decision to expel the students is final.If a higher authority asks us to review the decision, we will do it. But a review does not necessarily mean the decision will change.

But 73 students is a huge number...
It's not as if I woke up one morning and decided to get rid of 73 students. There is procedure and logic behind this. Students were made aware of the criteria at the time of admission. They were also reminded about it and asked to improve their performance when it was felt they were slipping. The decision hasn't come as a shock to them.

When did IIT-Roorkee decide to expel students with less than 5 CGPA in the first year?
This was introduced last year.

What was the logic behind this change?
vIt's best to ask students who cannot cope to leave after the first year than have them drop out in the third or fourth year.They should be given the option of pursuing an alternate career early instead of studying something they are not cut out for. There are US universities which expel students at the end of first year because they don't make the cut, but we don't talk about that.

So will you continue with this criterion?

As long as I am the director, I would like to continue with this criterion.

Why not allow these students to repeat a year instead of expelling them?
First of all, this is not the first time an IIT has expelled students for poor academic performance. In 2013, we asked 12 stu dents to leave, but they were eventually taken back. I have data to show that those students could not complete the course.
What's the point of allowing the 73 (stu dents) to continue, only to have them drop out later? As for us, we are constant ly monitoring the performance of every student and constantly innovating to enl sure that no one leaves the system be cause of the fault of the system.

These students have cracked one of the toughest entrance exams in the world.Why can't they cope after admission?
You are talking to a person who is also disturbed by the number (of failures). I am the director, but I'm also a professor.Maybe we'll have a better understanding of this a few months down the line.The competition here is intense and it depends on how each student handles the competition.

the speaking tree - Find Out How Authentic Your Emotion Is

Osho





A religious life is a functioning of the spontaneous being. There are situations every moment.You act, but not as a doer, you act spontaneously . Somebody smiles, what do you do? You can smile as a doer, you can manipulate; you can smile because it will be impolite if you don't smile; you can smile, because in a society you have to exist and this man is very important.Small Factor
In fact, it is greatly flattering that he smiled at you, so you have to. It may be a bargain, a business, a trade, a social mannerism ­ or it may be simply an unconscious habit. Somebody smiles ­ you react, you smile. A pushbutton smile, your being is absolutely unaffected. In fact, you are not in your smile at all. It is just on the lips, a painted thing: just an exercise of the lips, nothing in it, absolutely empty .You manipulate.
You are not only manipulating another's body , you are manipulating your own body ­ and this goes on. All spontaneity is lost; you become a robot. This is how hell is created. Then your love is false, your hate is false, your smile is false, your tears are false.And how do you suppose to live in such falsity and think of bliss? falsity and think of bliss?
Be spontaneous, there is nothing to lose and everything to be gained.
A Little Awkward
In the beginning you may sometimes feel a little awkward because you wanted to smile, it was needed as a social etiquette but a spontaneous smile was not there. But soon your authenticity will be felt by others also, and will start paying you. When a real smile comes to your lips, it will be as if the whole being becomes a smile. All around you your smile spreads like ripples in consciousness. Everybody who is near you will feel a bath-like purity , and you will feel a tremendous bliss happening to you. A simple act of authentic spontaneity , and immediately you are transported from this world to another world.
Full of Spontaneity
Even positive emotions, false, are ugly; and even negative emotions, authentic, are beautiful. Even anger is beautiful when your whole being feels it, when every fibre of you being is vibrant with it. Look at a small child angry ­ and then you will fell the beauty of it. His whole being is in it.Radiant. His face red. Such a small child looks so powerful that it seems he could destroy the whole world! And what happens to a child once he is angry? After a few minutes, he is happy and dancing and running around the house again. Why doesn't this happen to you? You move from one falsity to another. If the anger is real, it lasts for a few moments; and while it lasts, authentic, it is beautiful. It harms nobody . A real, spontaneous thing cannot harm anybody . Only falsity harms.
And I tell you that even negative emotions are good, if real; and if they are real, by and by , their very reality transforms them. They become more and more positive and a moment comes when all positivity and negativity disappears. You simply remain authentic: you don't know what is good and what is bad, you don't know what is positive and what is negative.You are simply authentic.
This authenticity will allow you to have a glimpse of the real. Only the real can know the real, the true can know the truth, the authentic can know the authentic that surrounds you. (From `The Grass Grows By Itself,' courtesy Osho International Foundation, http:www.osho.com) Post your comments at speakingtree.in

Jul 11 2015 : The Times of India (Delhi)

`Declining sex-ratio trend now affects more states'

Sushmi Dey

New Delhi:





Though India has made significant progress in controlling the growth of population, concerns are rapidly growing when it comes to male-female ratio and reproductive rights of women.India's population growth rate has declined significantly from 21.54% in 1991-2000 to 17.64% in 2001-11 and with 2.3% fertility rate, India is now just 0.2 points away from reaching the replacement level, as per the sample registration system, office of registrar general, India, 2011-13.
Nearly 60% of the population resides in states where either replacement fertility is already reached or will soon meet the target. These include the southern states, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Punjab.
However, 11% more male children are born every year as compared to females, as against a benchmark of 5%, shows UN data. Experts say the trend, which was earlier limited to some states, is expanding to others. Ahead of World Population Day on July 11, civil society and public health groups have demanded inclusion of family planning as a specific objective in the Sustainable Development Goals.
For the full report, log on to http:www.timesofindia.com