the speaking tree - What It Means To `Love Thy Neighbour'

Homayun Taba





What does `Love thy neighbour as thyself ' really mean? Neighbour here is not only the person next door. Nor is this about opening your arms and hugging everyone you see. Among the many meanings of love one implies ahimsa or harmlessness towards `jaan' and `maal', the life and property of others.Love also implies acceptance. In this ense, seeing any differences ­ religious, cultural, ethnic or national ­ i am still able to see in you a unique entity like myself, sharing basic human needs for ecurity , and survival.
This phrase is equally echoed in krinwantu viswam aryam', let us make his world a noble place to live in. Nobility s wrongly attributed to pedigree, it needs ather to be seen as supreme humanness.How can i, through my attitude, percep ion and words honour others who tand next to me, no matter their colour, eligion and gender? It prompts us to actively and creatively realise the possi bilities of the world for others. Otherwise the pseudo-independence of a separate self asserts itself at each juncture.
Sharon Salzberg finds it wondrous, radical, full of opportunity to really commit to making this a better world, because “... we genuinely find ourselves in one another. Who is a stranger? Who is the `other' when you hear their hopes and dreams, see their lives unfold?“ All these may seem too ideal to engage in, till one witnesses the current spread of the opposite. A 95-year-old Jewish survivor, helped by Christian families during the war, who is these days helping targeted Christian families relocate out of Syria ­ even suggested that th awful though the killings Nazis did in a mechanical or industri spea al way and scale were, Islamic tr State today is perhaps as heinous, openly enjoying and relishing the brutalities it inflicts. Jaan and maal are threatened and attacked, and a vicious disrespect for differences displayed; another way of saying `anyone not with us is against us'.
This way, the divide between us and the other grows ever wider. There can be no transformational breakthrough in consciousness ­ no matter which tradition one belongs to and how many sacrifices and rituals one observes or undertakes.Once the crystallisation of otherness takes hold, it becomes notoriously diffi cult to see through and to get out of.
The poison lies in seeing oneself divinely-born and others illegitimately arrived; us `the chosen ones' heading towards paradise and others hell-bound; us worthy of being touched others untouchables.
Let's go back to the neighbour.
Visualise a chain, if each ring feels connected to the next, then the first will also be bonded with the tenth; how neighbourliness extends. And that is how neighbourliness extends. And the result is a very strong chain.
In a conversation with Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo she told us how during their visit to Jerusalem an Arab guard asked their Israeli friends what they were. “They explained,“ she said “that we were Buddhist nuns.“ “Buddhists? Is that a new religion?“ They explained that actually it had been around for about 2,500 years. The guard replied, “So ... Buddhists... Who are they against?“ Real spirituality is to see less of the divisions and more of the similarities; to understand the contextual soil that nourishes a multitude of plants ­ in this case each and every individual. The point is not to ignore differences but to not allow them to determine one's perception of what it means to be truly human. The message is to rise above narrow confines and tap into the already existing spaciousness. Have mystics said anything other than this? Shouldn't this be universally felt and heard?

Brokering deals with god

Fear of the future makes people seek out spiritual gurus in search of reassurance. And that is why a thousand Radhe Maas flourish

India is famous for Basmati rice, yoga, Gandhi and, of course, spiritualism.Sadhus and sants dot the country, ranging from the lone, bearded baba under the village tree to swamis who live luxurious lives with a battery of attendants and devotees doing their bidding. 

Clairvoyant, spiritual guru, representative of god — godmen and women in India have been called these and much more. They are in the news again, thanks to Radhe Maa of Mumbai who has been accused by a woman of instigating her in-laws to harass her for dowry.

All of us have heard from friends, relatives, acquaintances, even strangers, of how they met a baba ormataji and their lives changed forever. Their businesses picked up, the childless got a child, ‘problems’ sorted themselves out… in short, it was happiness all the way.

Most seek the help (guidance?) of godmen not for spiritual purposes but for improving their material lives. Will I get a promotion or will my colleague beat me to it; will I get the party ticket to contest elections, if yes, will I win; will my new venture make profits — these are some of the typical ‘problems’ for which people seek ‘guidance’ or answers.

These issues stem from fear – fear of the uncertain. Humans love to peep into the future and when they are assured by their baba or mataji that all will be well (if not today, then tomorrow), they heave a sigh of relief. When some of their problems are resolved, thanks to some luck and the normal course of things, they attribute it to miracles (‘even the doctors had given up hope’) and the protective hand of the guru.

Dependency syndrome

But what of the price people pay for such assurance of ‘happiness unlimited’? By seeking the help of godmen and clairvoyants, people turn away from reality. Even the educated and rational become vulnerable when a slew of problems strikes them. Indeed, in most instances, the devotee is assured that it is his good karma that brought him to the spiritual guide in the first place (‘not everyone can get theswamiji’s darshan,’ he is assured). People start believing that all good things that happen to them are thanks to the blessings bestowed on them, and all the bad things will eventually pass, if they follow theirguruji’s advice (which may range from an appeal for a modest contribution to demands for huge sums of money to propitiate the gods). Before they realise it, they become dependent on these so-called gurus for their physical, emotional and financial well-being. The search for quick-fix solutions and the lack of courage renders them incapable of facing the day-to-day challenges of life.

Why are our godmen and women so successful? Most of them come from humble backgrounds, start in a small way and, within a few years, have a huge following with swanky ashrams, temples and loads of money. No business model can explain their exponential growth. Almost always, they claim they are an incarnation of god. A police officer, for instance, claimed that Lord Krishna appeared in his dreams and told him he was Radha. Soon, a halo is created around them by a few people, which is then publicised to attract more devotees to the fold. Stories of miracles are meticulously spread.

The matajis and babas acquire a cult status once politicians and celebrities, ever ready to exploit anything that can remotely benefit them, enter the scene. Thanks to political patronage, adulation and publicity, it is not long before dollars and foreign tours start flowing in. The heady mix of money, power and religion without responsibility, and the knowledge that even the state is scared of meddling with religious affairs, make godmen and women acquire a larger-than-life image. Many invest in hospitals, ashrams and educational institutions, which increases their popularity.

Religious sanction

What sets them apart from politicians, celebrities and businessmen is the religious sanction of their influence, which they exploit to the fullest. They no longer seek or appeal for donations; they place orders. There are reports in the media of people who sell their property, even abandon their families at the command of their so-called gurus. 

What is baffling is the continued following sants and gurujis command even after allegations of sex, sleaze and crime are levelled against them. Swami Premananda, once hailed as a spiritual leader, was sentenced to life for rape and murder. Other religious leaders have been accused of similar crimes and more. But their followers live in denial; those who make the allegations are sidelined, threatened, even silenced. Sadhus and sadhvis, it would seem, can do no wrong. Any challenge to their authority is perceived as a challenge to religion itself. The fear of antagonising the gods in whose name godmen and women thrive, and the fear of reprisal prevent many from speaking out.

Ours is a country where religion is fed to people on a daily basis, and spiritual gurus are held in great awe and respect. It has produced many eminent spiritual leaders who have worked for the welfare of people, showing them the path to salvation. This is perhaps the reason people believe that those who preach in the name of god can do no wrong.

All religions preach spirituality. But it is necessary to remember that spiritualism is also about giving up materialism, not promoting it in the name of religion. A guru or guide should ideally help realise one’s spiritual dream, not promise the world to his or her devotees in exchange for money, land or patronage. Anyone who claims to speak on behalf of god and broker deals with god for a commission can hardly be trusted to elevate a person spiritually.

But then, till people realise that life has its ups and downs and no one except them can fight their everyday battles, swamijis and matajis will continue to prosper. They will continue to promise quick fixes in the name of the god they claim to represent and who has ordained them to provide salvation to humanity – that part of humanity which is willing to submit and asks no questions.

mythili.s@thehindu.co.in

Keywords: Radhe Maa, self-styled godman, dependency syndrome, Srimad Sarathi Baba, Swami Premananda

AIPMT topper Vipul thanks parents, says wants to help people

Haryana's Vipul Garg, who topped the All India Pre-Medical Test entrance examination 2015, said on Monday he has fulfilled his parents dream and will now strive to become a cardiologist or neurologist. "Without a doubt, it is a big achievement for me," Garg said.

Garg has managed to ace the examination by securing 695 out of 700 marks in the AIPMT retest, the results of which were declared earlier in the day.

Seventeen-year-old Garg, who has been undergoing treatment for a problem in his sinuses, said his medication made him drowsy while he was preparing for the entrance examination, but that did not deter him from studying hard.

"I used to get severe headaches during my preparation days and managed to study for a maximum of four to five hours at a stretch. But, I believe that if we study with a lot of concentration and focus even for such a short time period regularly, we can surely score well," said Garg, whose father, Vijender Kumar, runs a shop of suitcases in Jind.

Garg, a student of New Holy Public School in New Delhi's Uttam Nagar East, says his parents braved a lot of hardship to educate him.

"But they never made me feel the heat. I have been a pampered child. My parents have never denied me of anything I had asked for, even if there was a shortage of money."

Read: Jaipur students ace AIPMT entrance test

"I had obtained a 10 CGPA in Class 10. My merit helped me do my schooling by paying a considerably low tuition fee. I was also offered a scholarship for my medical coaching by a private coaching institute," said Garg, who scored a 90% in his Class 12 exams.

Commenting on the Supreme Court's decision to scrap the May 3 AIPMT examination after a question paper was leaked and the answer sheet was circulated with the help of electronic devices, Garg said he got a little nervous when he heard about the retest which was held on July 25.

"The retest was not a solution. My confidence level went low when I came to know that I need to write a re-test. I was confident about my performance in the initial exam and was expecting to score well. My parents and teachers boosted my motivation to a large extent."

Garg wishes to join the Maulana Azad Medical College in New Delhi and go back to Jind and practice there.

"I worked hard for the AIPMT and now the top ranking will help me get an admission in Maulana Azad Medical College. I want to help the people of my area by providing them with low-cost medical treatment," he said.

Aug 18 2015 : The Economic Times (Bangalore)

Startups Tap IIT Students for Freelance Jobs

Rica Bhattacharyya & Anumeha Chaturvedi

Mumbai New Delhi





Akash Gaurav, third-year undergradu ate student at IIT Bombay, earns `50,000-70,000 a month by developing software for startups and devoting not more than three hours of spare time a day. Agniva Si, third-year metallurgy student at IIT Roorkee, manages to make `50,000 a month by graph ic designing and sketching for startups.With the rise of startups in India leading to a burgeoning volume of work, an increasing number of startups like Bewakoof.com, Venturesity, Jabong, TouchKraft, VanityCube are employing IIT students, mostly from the second and third year. The projects include app development, analytics and machine learning, modelling, graphic and visual design, growth hacking and content marketing work as they can be assigned and monitored remotely .
“Companies gain by getting solutions while the students gain by getting exposure of two to four months,“ said Ashu Malhotra, head, human resources at Jabong.
Around mid-July, IIT Bombay launched a cell for freelancers and co-founders for any startup looking for talent in mobile app, coding, designing, etc. In less than a month, the institute has received interest from more than 200 startups looking for talent to work with them on projects.Some of them include VanityCube, MobieFit, Flyrobe, TouchKraft, and Innovision. So far, the institute has connected about 150 students to startups. And 70% of the students are joining as freelancers as the main incentive is that they will be cofounders. TouchKraft made one of the highest offers so far of `1.50 lakh for freelance software development talent, said Gaurav , web manager of the cell.
It is a win-win for students and startups. Startups have to pay several times more to hire a professional with five to six years' experience. Early sta g e star tups, particularly , find students easier to afford. On their part, students can ear n between ` 30,000 and ` 1 lakh a month.
Also, startups find talent in their 20s to be more tech savvy, an essential. “The best talent is always in their 20s when it comes to technology and designing. With age most people are not able to evolve,“ says Prabhkiran Singh, co-founder, Bewakoof.com.
He said his reason for working with people from college is to also stay connected to know what skills people have on campus.
“There has been a rise in companies giving short-term projects to IIT students...The primary reason is that students are picking up these new and hot skills for free by learning from online courses and making them usefulup to the mark,“ said Subhendu Panigrahi, IIT Kharagpur alumnus and co-founder, Venturesity . He has given students projects primarily in two areas -product development and growth hacking, with salaries ranging from ` 15,000 to `50,000 per month.
Students are also open to spending their free time in a more constructive way and earn some cash while studying. Most of them picking up such work aspire to start their own venture. These engagements help them get to know the founders and learn the nuances of running a startup. Most of the work is either preceded or succeeded by a two-to-three-month internship, leading to more engagement. Zomato organises Trial Week to handpick top talent for its technology team. The recruits spend a week at the company , working with the tech team on live projects.
“We sift through the hundreds of applications for the programme and shortlist a handful of candidates to come and spend an all-expenses-paid week with our tech team at our headquarters in Gurgaon,“ said Deepinder Goyal, founder & CEO, Zomato. Projects typically include tools used in daily operations, or features that will be included in their product. “People are welcome to apply even if they have a few years of code under their belt. All we expect from candidates is a serious passion for code, and a desire to get things done,“ he added.
For some of the students it is more of a passion and helps them test their acumen. “I would like to take design as a profession at a later stage and these projects give me good exposure,“ said Si of IIT Roorkee.

ug 18 2015 : The Economic Times (Bangalore)

A DIFFERENT STAND A WEEK AGO - In U-turn, Russia Supports India's Entry Into UNSC

DipanjanRoy Chaudhury

New Delhi:





We support India and Brazil for permanent membership in Security Councils, says Russia

In a sudden U-turn, Russia has said it backs the applications of both India and Brazil for permanent membership in the UN Security Council, less than a week after opposing Delhi's entry into the powerful five-nation grouping.“We think that developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America are under-represented in the UN Security Council. That is why we support the applications of India and Brazil for permanent membership in the Security Council,“ Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told news agency Itar-Tass ahead of the General Assembly session on the 70th anniversary of the United Nations. “We think that the African continent should be similarly represented in the structure because, I will stress it again, developing countries are under-represented and their role is insufficient in the work of this main institution.“
Only less than a week ago, Vitaly Churkin, Russia's Permanent Ambassador to the UN, had written to UN General Assembly President Sam Kutesa opposing India's entry as a permanent member of the Council. Both the US and China also resisted India's efforts to sit at the h i g h t abl e. C h i n a , France, Russia, the UK and the US are the permanent, veto-holding members of the UN body responsible for maintaining international peace and security .
While the Chinese position was predictable, the stand of the US and Russia ­ close partners of India ­ did not go down well with the Modi government, officials here said. They are of opinion that these countries do not want to share their exclusive privileges. Prime Minister Narendra Modi may raise the issue when he meets US President Barack Obama on September 28 in New York and when he visits Moscow this December for the annual summit.
India has been hoping that the 70th anniversary of the UN this year would be an appropriate time to reform the Security Council to reflect global realities. France and UK have supported India's case.
Lavrov noted that it was important to promote such a reform “that will not make UN Security Council uncontrolled, exceedingly amorphous, overblown institution.The efficiency of its work is one of the key principles along with appropriate representation of all regions, all centres of global development. Somewhere around slightly more than 20 members -I think, that is the threshold that should be considered.“
In his letter to UNGA President Kutesa, Churkin had said that the “prerogatives of the current Permanent Members of the Security Council, including the use of the veto, should remain intact under any variant of the Council reform.“
Samantha Power, The US Permanent Representative to the UN, said in a letter to Kutesa that, while the US is “open in principle“ to a “modest“ expansion of both permanent and non-permanent members, it believes that consideration of new permanent members must be country-specific in nature. She also categorically stated that the US was opposed to “any alteration or expansion of the veto.“
China said UNSC reform is “multifaceted,“ covering not only issues such as enlarging the Council's membership and strengthening representation, but also increasing efficiency and improving working methods.

the speaking tree - Ways To Cross The River Of Maya

Kishor Kulkarni





A catalyst is a substance that speeds up a chemical reaction. In order for chemicals to react, the species involved in any reaction must undergo a rearrangement of chemical bonds. The slowest step in the bond rearrangement produces what is termed a transition state ­ a chemical species that is neither a reactant nor a product, but is an intermediate between the two. Energy is required to form the transition state. This energy is called the Energy of Activation, or Ea.Reactants with energy lower than Ea cannot pass through the transition state to react and become products.A catalyst works by providing a different route, with lower Ea, for the reaction. In any given time interval, the presence of a catalyst allows a greater proportion of the reactant species to acquire sufficient energy to pass through the transition state and become products.
So a chemical reaction can theoret ically proceed without a catalyst, but only too slowly. However, with a catalyst, it proceeds much faster. Likewise, a seeker's spiritual progress may happen very slowly without a sadhguru.
A seeker can always read up the ample spiritual literature available and try to proceed on the spiritual path. But it may take many lives. On the other hand, the same words when coming from a sadhguru, could have a different effect like a catalyst in a chemical reaction.Without a sadhguru, the spiritual reading merely sits together with our intellect, like the chemical reactants being put together without the catalyst.For the spiritual transformation to happen, a sadhguru as a catalyst helps greatly .
In the Bhagwad Gita, Chap ter 7, verse 14, Krishna says that it is extremely difficult, almost impossible, to cross the river of maya (delusion), except through surrender to Him. In his commentary on the Gita, Shri Bhavarth Deepika, Sant Shri Jnaneshwar, beautifully amplifies this assertion using many metaphors.
The river of maya gets filled by the rains in the form of three gunas that cause the flood of delusion. There are many dangers like whirlpools of hatred, big fish of arrogance, and waves of de sires in this river. Any means that one resorts to for over coming these dangers actually become counterproductive.
Someone plunges into the river trusting his intellectual strength, but vanishes without a trace.
Another one may try to ride a float in the form of the vedas, but he gets devoured by fish in the form of arrogance. Someone else may try to cross the riv er trusting his youthful energy , but he gets chewed by a crocodile in the form of sense pleasures. Some try the float of yajnas, but they get stuck in the rocks of heavenly pleasures. The boat of vairagya or asceticism does not help, nor can the stick of viveka or discriminatory intellect measure the depth of this river.
If a sage can understand an evil mind, or if a fish can swallow the hook, or if a ghost will be afraid of a timid person, only then living beings will be able to cross the river of maya on their own strength! So what is the way to cross this river of maya? Shri Jnaneshwar says further that only those who surrender to the Lord with an attitude of total nonduality can easily cross this river. Only those who have their sadhguru as the boatman in the boat of Self-realisation, who have discarded their ego and all the vikalpa or doubts, who have given up attachment to their wife and children, can cross this river of maya.

Aug 18 2015 : The Times of India (Delhi)

UNIV RANKINGS - Indian varsities fail global test

Kounteya Sinha

London TNN





A single Indian university has made it to the top 500 university rank ings. However, the lone In dian entry ­ Indian Insti tute of Science in Bangalore, ranks as low as between 301400, according to the 2015 Academic Ranking of World Universities (AR WU) released by Shanghai Jiao Tong University .Interestingly in 2003 and 2004, IISc was still In dia's only entry but its rank ings were around 200 which has fallen drastically .
More than 1,200 univer sities are ranked by ARWU every year and the best 500 are published. When rank ing world universities, AR WU uses key objective indi cators, which are the number of alumni and staff winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals, the number of highly cited researchers selected by Thomson Reuters, the number of articles published in journals of Nature and Science and per capita performance of a university . India fails miserably in almost all counts.
A recent Thomson Reuters study had found just 3.5% of global research out put in 2010 was from India. India's share of world research output in clinical medicine was a paltry 1.9% in 2010, with psychiatry at 0.5%, molecular biology at 2.1% and environmental research at 3.5%. In mathematics, India's share of world output stood at around 2% in 2010, while it was 17% for China.
“India has been the sleeping giant of Asia. Research in the university sector, stagnant for at least two decades, is now accelerating but it will be a long haul to restore India as an Asian knowledge hub,“ said the report.