The God Phenomenon Takes A Macro View

Kishor Kulkarni





God is said to be the Creator, Sustainer and Destroyer of this perceptible universe. However, such a god may not be a `personal' god ­ a single perceptible entity as depicted in idols and pictures. It is better to understand God as a phenomenon that is behind this perceptible creation.Macro Manager
The God Phenomenon may be managing creation only at a macro level rather than at the micro level. In other words, God Phenomenon creates a broad framework of laws and patterns but is unlikely to give me a promotion simply because i pray to Him ­ that would be micro-management which the God Phenomenon may not want to get into.
There are two kinds of prayer. The first is a prayer for getting one or the other worldly wish fulfilled. Majority of the people praying belong to this category. They believe in a kind and omnipotent personal god who grants them their wishes in response to their prayers and appeasements by way of worship and material offerings. But from a rational perspective, it is impossible to say with any certainty if one's prayer of this kind is really answered by such a god.
Contradictory Prayer
As we know, some of our wishes seem to get fulfilled while others do not, however sincerely we may have prayed.It is possible that our prayer gets granted if what we ask for is in alignment with the big picture. Besides, what happens when, for example, two warriors are engaged in a fight to finish, and both pray for victory? God cannot make both of them victors! In such a scenario, God will be perceived by the loser as one not granting prayers. A person who is rational and yet a believer in the God Phenomenon may not like to pray to a transactional god who needs something in return for the favour granted.
Miracle Makers
There are many stories of saints and sages who had exercised miraculous powers to grant the prayers of their devotees in a demonstrable way. But that may have been only to show that there is a `supernatural' power beyond the ordinarily perceptible universe and which can affect our life in a `miraculous way' as directed by that power. However, such `feats' were performed only in a limited way in a limited region over a limited period of time, possibly with the limited purpose of restoring people's faith in a supernatural power.
Spiritual Objective
The second category of prayer is when one does not pray for any worldly desire. He prays only for spiritual objective of liberation. Now, who listens to this kind of prayer, if at all? Again it is better not to think of a personal god who has attuned his receiver to such prayers. Instead, it may be that such prayers are listened to by our own mind. Such prayers gradually bring about a change in our own mind, in our attitudes, in our view of worldly life and that itself leads to liberation from attachment to the worldly life.
It makes sense not to pray for any worldly wishes. Simply accept life as it comes while doing good karma. Pray only for strength and equanimity to face hardships and suffering in life as and when you are faced with them. Pray for thankfulness when something that happens pleases you. Pray for detachment from the perceptible world.

Steal Success From Failure

SWAMI KRIYANANDA





When William the Conqueror landed in England, the first thing he did was to stumble and fall down. A gasp went through his army at this omen of disaster. William, however, rose to his feet, crying, “I am so determined to conquer this land that, behold, I've seized it with both my hands!“ At that, a great shout of renewed confidence went up from every throat.William's army went on that day to win one of history's greatest battles. Failure comes only when we accept it as failure. Instead of telling ourselves, “I've failed!“ we should say , “I haven't yet succeeded.“Troops whose grievances go unaddressed may eventually become rebellious. So it is with the subconscious. We simply can't afford to ignore it. Nor, on the other hand, do we need to be led by it, helplessly. We can command it if we face it squarely and honestly .
A general doesn't need to know each and every soldier in his ranks. What he must do is put out the kind of energy they will respect and obey . The same thing is true for us in our relation to the subconscious.We needn't face each and every mental foe of our conscious resolutions; just address the subconscious with that kind of magnetic determination that will enlist its support.
A cheerful attitude is magnetic; discouragement is demagnetising. Hope is magnetic; despair is demagnetising. Love is magnetic; hatred and indifference dull our magnetism. Faith is magnetic; doubt destroys magnetism. Be, therefore, always positive, cheerful, full of hope, faith, and love for God.

First Jamaican author wins Booker prize

Kounteya Sinha





Reggae king Bob Marley was to perform at the Smile Jamaica concert on December 3, 1976, to ease political tensions ahead of the country's general elections when seven men stormed his house with machine guns. He survived and went on to perform at the concert, but left the country the next day and didn't return for two years.Jamaican novelist Marlon James wove this plot to explore the country's politics, gang wars and drug trafficking for his 686-page novel ` A Brief History of Seven Killings', which on Tuesday won him the Man Booker Prize.
James, the first Jamaican born author to win the Booker, said he was so certain that he would not win that he did not prepare an acceptance speech. “I'm not an easy writer to like,“ he said, referring to his experimental style.
Michael Wood -chair of the five judges who selected the five judges who selected James's book from a shortlist of six titles -praised the 44year-old's stylistic range and his unflinching exploration of violence, cronyism and corruption. “It's a crime novel that moves beyond the world of crime and takes us deep into a recent history we know far too little about,“ he said.The short-list included `The Year of the Runaways' by UK-based Indian origin writer Sunjeev Sahota.
James was born in Kingston, Jamaica. He worked in advertising for more than a decade. He inherited his father's love of literature -the two of them often reci ted Shakespearean soliloquies to each other. His first no vel, `John Crow's Devil' was published in 2005 and second `The Book of Night Women' came in 2009. His first novel was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the Commonwealth Writers Prize. and his second book won the 2010 Dayton Literary Peace Prize and was a finalist for the 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award.
James, who spent four years working on `A Brief History of Seven Killings', said he first envisioned it as a short crime novel. Instead, the story morphed into an epic tale retelling the near mythic assassination attempt of Marley , who is referred as `The Singer', through witnesses, FBI and CIA agents to killers, ghosts, beauty queens and Keith Richards' drug dealer. Crediting Charles Dickens as one of his formative influences, James, now a resident of Minneapolis, said, “I still consider myself a Dickensian. I still believe in--plot, surprise, cliff hangers.“
(With inputs from agencies)

Source: Times of India, 15-102015

We Are Living In A World Of Challenges

Maulana Wahiduddin Khan





The fact is that our world is full oproblems. Philosophers call it the problem of evil. But it is a case of wrong nomenclature. It is to give a negative name to a positive phenomenon. Problems are there, but problems are not evil; they are challenges. The only meaningful explanation of this phenomenon is to take problems as challenges.This phenomenon can be explained by keeping in mind the creation plan of the Creator. There is a difference between the human and material world.According to the creation plan, the material world has no freedom of choice. The course of the material world is pre-determined while man is free to make his choices. It is this difference that creates problems that can be viewed positively .
The concept of self-development does not exist in the material world.Man, on the other hand, was born with great potential. And this potential can be realised in difficult circumstances.It is only in circumstances of pressure that man's hidden potential can be turned into actuality . Terming these difficult circumstances as evil is a result of lack of understanding the Law of Nature.
On planet earth, the gravitational pull exists in the right proportion. This pull is so important that without it civilisation could never have come into existence. But this blessing of the Creator remained unknown to man until the physicist Isaac Newton received shock treatment from nature. According to a well-known story , he was hit on the head by an apple when he was sitting under the apple tree in his garden. Through this `hit' nature was, as if, saying in silent language, `O man, why don't you think. If you think you will come to learn a great reality .' In this respect, everyone is like Newton. Everyone is born with great treasure in his mind. But, every person needs a shock treatment. This is the course of nature and there is no exception in this regard. Without passing through this course, a person's mind will not unfold and he will not be able to achieve great success.
M K Gandhi was born in India in 1860. After completing his education he went to South Africa to practise law. At the time, there was no idea of the freedom struggle. However, an incident in 1893 triggered his mind. In June of that year, he had to undertake a trip to Pretoria in the Transvaal, a journey which took him to Pietermaritzburg. There, Gandhi took his seat in a ss compartment, since he had first-class compartment, since he had purchased a first-class ticket. The railway officials ordered him to remove himself to the van compartment, since non-whites were not permitted in first-class compartments. As Gandhi refused to comply with the order, he was pushed out of the train, and his luggage was tossed out on to the platform in the extremely bitter cold of winter. About this experience Gandhi says that it “changed the course of my life“.
After this incident Gandhi returned to India and started the freedom movement in 1920. The result was that he emerged as `Mahatma' Gandhi and became the greatest leader of the freedom movement.
If an `apple' hits your head, do not take it in the negative sense, but know that it has hit your head to make your mind a super mind. Take it as a wakeup call ­ that a new day is dawning upon you.

The importance of Article 370

Article 370 of the Constitution is the current bedrock of the constitutional relationship between Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of India. With its abrogation being an avowed policy of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the J&K High Court’s recent observation that the provision has acquired a state of permanence may cause some disquiet in the party and the government. However, the High Court’s comment should be seen in the limited context in which it was made. Its remark that Article 370 is beyond amendment, repeal or abrogation flows from an analysis of the question whether the section had become inoperative after the State’s Constituent Assembly framed its Constitution, and then the Assembly itself ceased to exist. In fact, the question whether its temporary provisions had acquired permanence was not before the court; nor was the court hearing a challenge to the validity of the Article per se. It was dealing with the validity of reservation in promotions among government employees in J&K. Ultimately, it struck down the provision for quotas in promotions on the ground that clause 4A of Article 16, introduced by the Constitution (77th) Amendment to protect reservation in promotions, was not applicable to J&K. This is because there is no Presidential Order making the new clause applicable to the State. One of the features of Article 370 is that a Constitution amendment becomes applicable to J&K only after the President issues an order. Without the protection of the clause, there is no scope for reservation in promotions, as the Supreme Court had barred such quotas in Indra Sawhney.

In its implications for Article 370, the High Court verdict has not broken any new ground. If anything, it is a reiteration of earlier Supreme Court rulings that Article 370 continues to be operative. It impliedly rules that the President’s power to issue orders, as has been done over the years making several laws and provisions of the Constitution applicable to J&K, remains untrammelled. By reiterating the core requirement that even provisions affording constitutional protection require the use of Article 370 and orders issued under its imprimatur, the court has reaffirmed that importance of the Article and showed how abrogating it will weaken the legal basis for J&K to be part of India, as the accession was linked to its getting special status. Some may find the observation that Article 370 is beyond repeal or abrogation debatable. Parliament’s amending power under Article 368 remains available for such a measure, but it is far wiser for any dispensation to wait for a resolution of the dispute with Pakistan over the entirety of Kashmir’s territory before revisiting the State’s constitutional status. Any premature action on this front may be a needless misadventure.

Keywords: Article 370, Jammu and Kashmir court, Constitutent Assembly

Source: The Hindu, 15-10-2015

Fresh challenges in the northeast

It is time the government paid the right kind of attention to the northeastern region, that stunning and strategic locale that ‘mainland India’ often does not understand, and routinely tends to ignore. It has been more than two months since the Narendra Modi government euphorically announced a peace accord with the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah), the largest among the armed outfits involved in the long-drawn Naga insurgency. What has transpired since the announcement on August 3 leaves very little room for optimism. Now, instead of working towards peace, the NSCN(I-M) is reported to be recruiting cadres, and possibly setting up camps, in the Manipur hills. Meanwhile, Manipur continues to be tense over tribal protests against the State government’s hasty passing of three key bills without proper discussion. It has been accused of being insensitive to relations among the settlers in the valley, the hill tribes and the migrants. Agitations over the last few weeks have claimed many lives. Reported instances of smuggling of arms and drugs and extortion in Manipur have gone up. Given the complex and bloodied history of the region, recent developments provide stark warnings of the possibility of even more anarchy.

New Delhi needs to deal with the region with a broader political response than through a few intelligence officers. Securitising the entire challenge is not the way to go. To take forward the peace accord with the NSCN(I-M) and to find a meaningful and lasting solution, the government should first acknowledge that what was signed on August 3 was only a basic framework for a possible accord, and broaden the efforts. The government should reach out to the opposition parties, regional outfits and civil society movements to form a national secretariat in mission mode in order to tackle the region’s many challenges. With the empowered secretariat in place, the government should get down to dealing with the nagging insurgencies of the region and the grievances of its many tribes and residents. Convincing all the insurgent groups, and not just splinter Naga rebels, in an inclusive manner to come to the table for peace talks, dealing with their demands with a non-condescending approach, and disarming them would all help the region find peace. The security forces should be empowered, though with due judicial accountability, to put down the industry of extortion and smuggling networks. The region’s significance in security terms cannot be overstated, given its historic geo-strategic role. And here, along a disputed stretch of the border, India and China are currently involved in one of the biggest conventional military build-ups ever.

Keywords: Northeast region, Naga insurgency, peace accord, National Socialist Council of Nagalim, Narendra Modi

Source: The Hindu, 15-10-2015

Science education, research: India should embark on new adventure

When the former premier of the People’s Republic of China Wen Jiabao visited the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore in 2010, he spoke about his country’s rise in the world of science. His impressive speech ended with a striking statement: He said that the two countries should collaborate in science and technology because there must be a “bridge between knowledge and power”. There was no doubt in his mind on who controlled the levers of power, but it was interesting to hear him say that India was still a fountain of knowledge.

We in India, however, have other views. Despite successes — our average lifespan today is much higher than it was in 1974, many diseases have moved from being lethal to treatable and some have been eliminated — many feel that we have not done well and our science institutions are moribund.

Such cynicism is not always correct. Just as we should be proud of our achievements in applying science through technology, we must also be proud of our standing in basic sciences. Much has been achieved since Independence and despite great odds these have had an enormous social and economic impact. This basic foundation needs to be strengthened if India wants to become a true knowledge economy.

At the nucleus of the foundation in basic sciences are our institutions. Despite all odds, we have built excellent ones and they have catalysed new ones. The IISc nucleated the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) and the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) that has put India in the nano-material global map. The TIFR has nurtured many institutions and the older IITs continue to nurture new ones.

Institutional qualities with a culture of questioning are vital to the success of this ecosystem. Just as our space and defence R&D programmes owe much to IISc, there have been new ecosystems in Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai and Delhi that have grown thanks to investment in basic sciences. These institutions have strengthened India in engineering, chemistry, mathematics, computer science, materials and many other areas. The Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research are remarkable examples of transformative investment that is having a positive effect on the ecosystem. In terms of value for money, we have done as the best in the world.

Extraordinary institutions nurture extraordinary individuals. Yet if we have done well in building institutions, why don’t we have Nobel Prize or the Fields medal winners? Three kinds of people get such awards: Talented geniuses who transcend institutions; talented scientists who build and lead teams; and those who are ordinary but lucky to have extraordinary collaborators and a nurturing environment. We have many in each of these categories but the global competition is stiff.

Yet we must not forget to praise the many excellent scientists who are in the Nobel category: Shambu Nath De for his work on cholera; GN Ramachandran for his work on protein structure and Subhash Mukhopadhyay for his work on in-vitro fertilisation. In mathematics, the TIFR school is extraordinary, exemplified by MS Raghunathan and MS Narasimhan’s work as has IIT-Kanpur led by Manindra Agarwal. In materials science, the JNCASR team has done wonderful work led by CNR Rao. In string theory, Ashoke Sen is a leader. Ajay Sood in condensed matter physics and Satyajit Mayor in cell biology are some other examples.

To continue on this path of success, India today requires a new mindset that breaks the boundaries between basic and applied science and a new sense of adventure to explore our marine, terrestrial and extra-terrestrial ecosystem. This new adventure must include building scientific foundations in schools, colleges and universities, more support for science, more cohesion among the institutions, reinventing our research institutes/universities and better functioning of our science agencies. We must also invest in people as they matter the most.

The ‘system’ needs to change, but the time spent in relentlessly flaying ourselves is the time spent away from working out solutions. We demand ‘process-based’ miracles for our problems. But if there is one thing we can learn from our scientific successes it is that the places that have done well are those that have combined good processes with good culture driven by quality collective leadership and the quality of young people.

India has everything going for embarking on this new adventure. By joining the components of quality, which we have, with a steadily increasing support for science education, fundamental research and applications, we can do wonders. The next time a Chinese premier comes to Bengaluru he should say that we should collaborate because India has shown the world how our quest for knowledge and understanding of nature leads to wisdom, prosperity and a sustainable planet.

K VijayRaghavan is secretary, department of biotechnology and ministry of earth sciences. The views expressed are personal.

Source: Hindustan Times, 15-10-20