It's What Happens To You That Makes You Real

Marguerite Theophil





From an old children's book by Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit, we learn wonderful lessons about maturing, about being okay as you are, about the importance of being acknowledged and loved, and yet, how the rewards of all this cannot come without its costs.The Velveteen Rabbit is a “really splendid, fat and bunchy rabbit“ with a brown and white coat, real thread whiskers, and ears lined with pink satin ­ a gift in a Christmas stocking for a little boy . “For at least two hours,“ the boy loved him, yet later in the day , in the excitement of unwrapping many other new presents, Rabbit was set aside. He then lived neglected in the toy cupboard.Being made of simple velveteen, some of the more flashy and expensive toys, specially the mechanical ones, ignored him or made fun of him.
Re-reading the book so many years later, I am taken more with the wisdom of the old Skin Horse, a toy so old and worn out that, “His brown coat was bald in patches, and most of the hairs in his long tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces.“
There is a beautiful conversation between Velveteen Rabbit and Skin Horse filled with wisdom about “becoming Real“. A sad and puzzled Rabbit asks Horse about what this Real is; if it means having things that whirr, buzz and move or having a stick-out handle.
Skin Horse explains that Real isn't about how you are made, but is something that happens to you: “When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but really loves you, then you become Real.“
This is when Rabbit asks an important question: “Does it hurt?“ Skin Horse, always truthful, replies: “Sometimes,“ but explains that when one is Real one doesn't always mind some hurt.
“Does it happen all at once?“ Rabbit wants to know, “or bit by bit?“ Not all at once, the Skin Horse declares, “You become. It takes a long time.“ And then he wisely points out that this is why it rarely happens to those toys ­ or people ­ “who break easily , or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept.“ By the time you are Real, he cautions Rabbit, it's likely most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop and you get loose in the joints and very shabby . But these things don't matter at all because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.
Rabbit longs to become Real, and yet wishes he could become Real without these uncomfort able things happening to him. Just like all of us! Without truly understanding and practising the lessons of self-acceptance, of loving and being loved, hand ling hurts and disappointments, of building resilience, accepting and the ups and downs of a naturally lived life, we are like the ones Horse says don't grow Real ­ those who break easily , or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept.
Poet-philosopher David Whyte reminds us, maturity , rather than a static arrived platform, where life is viewed from a calm, untouched oasis of wisdom, is a “living elemental frontier“ demanding the ability , despite our grief and losses, to courageously inhabit what has already happened, what is happening now and how this is all first imagined and then lived into a waiting future.
We grow, and grow real, through our own efforts and understanding over time, through the recognition, love and support of others, and mostly , through our willingness to be open and vulnerable.

Mainstream Weekly

• About Mainstream
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• 2015

Most recent articles

• Primary Task Today

  26 December 2015, by SC
  EDITORIAL
  As the year comes to an end with Mainstream entering its fiftyfourth year, one is reminded of what was written in these very columns a year ago.
  Surveying the political scenario of the nation at the end of 2014, it was noted in this journal’s Annual Number last year:
  Seven months ago the outcome of the 16th Lok Sabha elections resulted in a political earthquake the tremors of which are still being felt even if the intensity of those tremors has lessened with the passage of time. (...)

• Time to Rally / Insanity Enthroned / Wanted: Statesmanship of Highest Order / Ayodhya and Hindu-Muslim Unity

  26 December 2015, by Nikhil Chakravartty
  From N.C.’s Writings
  Time to Rally
  There is nothing unusual for a nation with complex problems to face to go through difficult times, and a great nations like ours with myriads of problems to clear can hardly be expected to enjoy all the time an even tenor of development. Challenges are inevitable for it to encounter, and as it overcomes them, it comes across new heights to climb in its journey ahead.
  What is being witnessed today in our country is, however, much more serious and (...)

• Building the Idea of India

  26 December 2015, by Irfan Habib
  The following is based on a lecture delivered by the author, a renowned historian, to the students of the Aligarh Muslim University at the AMU’s Kennedy Hall on September 7, 2015. The author has himself edited the text of the lecture’s transcript and sent it to us for publication.
  Young Friends,
  In the preliminary remarks here it was said that the concept of India is a growing one, and I, therefore, propose to discuss how the concept of India arose, how it developed and how India became a (...)

• Hindutva {Juggernaut on Roll: Beef-eaters to be out of Indian Nationhood

  26 December 2015, by Shamsul Islam
  The Hindutva propounder, V.D. Savarkar, in his book, Hindutva (1923), and the prominent ideologue of the RSS, M.S. Golwalkar, in his book, We or Our Nationhood Defined (1939), kept Indian Muslims and Christians out of Indian nationhood. According to their definitions, only Hindus could be part of the Indian nation (which was an exclusive Hindu nation) as they only had Aryan racial lineage, in their veins Hindu blood ran, they spoke the Sanskrit language, their ‘Fatherland’ (motherland (...)

• All Well for Now — And How

  26 December 2015, by Badri Raina
  When I spoke of the historical inevitability of the Constitution of India some months ago (see “Republic Resilient”), in contradistinction to inevitability of another kind that we have been taught to expect—namely, the demise of Capitalism at the hands of its own progeny—I could have had little idea that events would rush with such emphasis to prove me right. The crushing assertion of the sensible, secular vote in the Bihar elections—which must go down as watershed in the history of Independent (...)

• Sangh Proposes, Modi Disposes

  26 December 2015
  by Arun Srivastava
  It was soothing to the ears that the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, praising Jawaharlal Nehru, was reaching out to the Congress leaders, adopting a conciliatory attitude towards the opponents, emphasising “if there is any incident of atrocity against anybody, it is a blot on all of us for the society as well as the nation” and asserting that no Indian needed to prove her/his patriotism.
  Listening to the speech on the floor of the Lok Sabha it appeared that the person, who (...)

• India: Roller-Coastering Democracy

  26 December 2015
  by L.K. Sharma
  Those who have seen the Indian Prime Minister’s irresistible rise in politics and heard his inflammatory rhetoric over the years, were astounded by his speech in Parliament. Short of quoting from the Bible, Narendra Modi sought to convey to his opponents that his “idea of India” was no different than theirs! And it is this very “idea of India” over which the two sides have been battling with each other. Modi’s critics would not believe the new convert, but his few conciliatory (...)

• From Bihar to Assam: Understanding and Predicting BJP’s Election Strategies in Upcoming Assam Elections

  26 December 2015
  by Aejaz Ahmad and M. Rafiq Wani
  Introduction
  The story of religious invocation and incantation in politics is as old as modernity itself. While modernity was supposed to release what is now called ‘modern politics’, of all the parochial traditions that had fused religion and politics into one interdependent system for several centuries, it could not bring the presumed transformations in the developing world for several reasons. Instead, it opened up new avenues wherein the parochial (...)

• Yemen Fighting Causing Disaster

  26 December 2015, by Harish Chandola
  A bigger tragedy than that of Syria is taking place in the small, poor Middle-East country of Yemen, which is being constantly bombed by a coalition of nine countries led by Saudi Arabia, fighting on behalf of Yemen’s deposed govern-ment. Over 6000 civilians have been killed in the bombing and its people are now fleeing to Somalia, across the Gulf of Aden. From across the Red Sea are arriving fierce Sudanese soldiers to fight the Yemenis. The devastated country is facing starvation because (...)

• Fear of War rising in Europe

  26 December 2015, by Apratim Mukarji
  The author was recently in Italy and Greece, the two European countries most affected by the refugee-migrant influx. Here he shares his experiences and impressions of the visit with our readers.—Editor
  In late-November, anti-war rallies were criss-crossing squares and avenues in European cities waving placards and banners and calling for peace and amity. The day Turkey brought down a Russian jet (November 24), the fear of an impending war spilled over and peace activists, academics and (...)

• Most recent articles

  • A Christmas Story in the Modi Era

    26 December 2015, by John Dayal
    Last year, the then brand new government of India declared 25th December to be Good Governance Day in honour of Atal Behari Vajpayee, a bachelor activist of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a founder of the Jana Sangh and its successor, the Bharatiya Janata Party, and the first of the Swayamsevaks to become the Prime Minister of India from 1998 to 2004. Twentyfifth December is also Christmas, celebrated across the world, and also in India where over 27 million Christians live. Christmas (...)

  • Partition Museum sans Britain

    26 December 2015, by Kuldip Nayar
    I liked the idea of a Museum on Partition. There was a lot of enthusiasm for it. But I find to my horror that the Partition Museum would be a branch of the British Museum, which would also supervise it. The whole purpose is defeated because the British are the ones to blame for the partition that resulted in the killing of one million people and uprooting of thrice that number.
    The partition was a parting kick by the British before they quit. They drew the line on the basis of religion (...)

  • A Mountain of Darkness surrounds Disappearance of the Koh-i-Noor from India

    26 December 2015, by A K Biswas
    COMMUNICATION
    This is a mystery of history. Veteran columnist and author Kuldip Nayar want us to believe that the Koh-i-Noor ”belongs to them (British) and that Lord Dalhousie fraudulently took it away from Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s son, Dilip Singh, a minor then during the British rule”. [‘Claims over Kohinoor’ in Mainstream, Vol LIII, No 49, New Delhi, November 28, 2015] In various capacities, for example, as journalist, Member of Parliament and High Commissioner of India to UK, he has been in (...)

  • In Paris Summit Rich West evaded responsibility for Global Warming

    26 December 2015, by Soma S. Marla
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  • Global Warming: After Paris, What?

    26 December 2015
    by Binoy Viswam
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  • Bullet Trains: A Costly Toy India Can Ill Afford

    26 December 2015, by Barun Das Gupta
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  • Land and People: 1894 To 2015

    26 December 2015, by S G Vombatkere
    Control over Land
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  • Hunger and Distress Peak towards Alarming Levels in Bundelkhand

    26 December 2015, by Bharat Dogra
    While hunger, deprivation, mass distress and migration have been widely reported from Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh in recent years, this year has seen the peaking of these distress conditions. Adverse weather conditions have worsened due to official neglect and apathy. If urgent steps to check the fast deteriorating conditions are not taken imme-diately, the situation will get out of hand within a few weeks resulting in avoidable loss of precious human lives. In addition many farm (...)

  • Democratic Decentralisation in J&K: Gender and Political Change

    26 December 2015
    by Gull Wani and Effat Yasmin
    Introduction
    The democratic renewal globally has created opportunities for more decentralisation of economic and political power. Panchayati Raj Institutions or democratic decentralisation is the development of the reciprocal relationship between the Central Government and local governments and between local governments and the citizens. Decentra-lisation has been helpful in the process of democratisation of polities and societies. In India, since 2005-06 the (...)

  • Candidly Baring out the Stark Realities of Kashmir

    26 December 2015, by Humra Quraishi
    BOOK REVIEW
    The Many Faces of Kashmiri Nationalism—From the Cold War to the Present Day by Nandita Haksar; Speaking Tiger, New Delhi; 2015; pages: 335; Price: Rs 350.
    The Many Faces Of Kashmiri Nationalism— From The Cold War To The Present Day (Speaking Tiger) is Nandita Haksar’s latest book and, perhaps, the most significant. It not just captures the very historical backgrounders to Kashmiri nationalism but in that process also throws open the dark realities of the prevailing situation. (...)

What is the difference between Sunnis and Shias

audi Arabia’s execution of Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr could escalate tensions in the Muslim world even further. Here is a primer on the basic differences between Sunni and Shia Islam.

What caused the split?

A schism emerged after the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632. He died without appointing a successor to lead the Muslim community, and disputes arose over who should shepherd the new and rapidly growing faith.

Some believed that a new leader should be chosen by consensus; others thought that only the prophet’s descendants should become caliph. The title passed to a trusted aide, Abu Bakr, though some thought it should have gone to Ali, the Prophet’s cousin and son-in-law. Ali eventually did become caliph after Abu Bakr’s two successors were assassinated.

After Ali also was assassinated, with a poison-laced sword at the mosque in Kufa, in what is now Iraq, his sons Hasan and then Hussein claimed the title. But Hussein and many of his relatives were massacred in Karbala, Iraq, in 680.

His martyrdom became a central tenet to those who believed that Ali should have succeeded the Prophet. (It is mourned every year during the month of Muharram). The followers became known as Shias, a contraction of the phrase Shiat Ali, or followers of Ali. The Sunnis, however, regard the first three caliphs before Ali as rightly guided and themselves as the true adherents to the Sunnah, or the Prophet’s tradition. Sunni rulers embarked on sweeping conquests that extended the caliphate into North Africa and Europe. The last caliphate ended with the fall of the Ottoman Empire after World War-I.

How do their beliefs differ?

The Sunni and Shia sects encompass a wide spectrum of doctrine, opinion and schools of thought. The branches are in agreement on many aspects of Islam, but there are considerable disagreements within each. Both branches include worshippers who run the gamut from secular to fundamentalist.

Shias consider Ali and the leaders who came after him as Imams. Most believe in a line of 12 Imams, the last of whom, a boy, is believed to have vanished in the ninth century in Iraq after his father was murdered. Shias known as Twelvers anticipate his return as the Mahdi, or Messiah.

Sunnis emphasise God’s power in the material world, sometimes including the public and political realm, while Shias value martyrdom and sacrifice.

Which sect is larger, and where is each concentrated?

More than 85 per cent of the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims are Sunni. They live across the Arab world, as well as in countries such as Turkey, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia. Iran, Iraq and Bahrain are largely Shia. The Saudi royal family, which practices an austere and conservative strand of Sunni Islam known as Wahhabism, controls Islam’s holiest shrines, Mecca and Medina. Karbala, Kufa and Najaf in Iraq are revered shrines for the Shias. — New York Times News Service

Keywords: Islam, Shias, Sunnis, Saudi Arabia-Iran conflict, Shia Sunni conflict, Islam sectarian violence, Prophet Muhammad

Source: The Hindu, 5-01-2016

Non-alignment to multi-alignment

India’s foreign policy has finally rid itself of Cold War trappings in favour of a wider engagement with world powers. But one Cold War-era reality remains: when it comes to Pakistan, one couldn’t be careful enough.

December has been a significant month for India and Indian diplomacy. This was not limited merely to defence acquisitions, but also included new initiatives on the foreign policy front.

If anything remained of the concept of non-alignment, India’s outreach to both Cold War antagonists, in December, appeared to signal its final demise. Non-alignment served India well during the difficult years from the mid to the late 20th century, but had apparently outlived its utility. The time had possibly come to sound its requiem, and India did just that in December.

M. K. Narayanan

Several reasons can be adduced for India’s shift from non-alignment to multi-alignment. Undeniably, policies adopted by India since the beginning of this century had helped generate a climate of trust across the spectrum of warring nations and long-time antagonists. A spirit of accommodation and constructive solutions to major regional and international challenges had also made India more acceptable to most nations. The India-U.S. Civil Nuclear Agreement in the first decade of this century was in this respect truly the “game changer”. India came to be seen as a positive, stabilising influence as far as the global and the regional environment was concerned. Non-alignment clearly had no place in this milieu.

Deepening India-U.S. ties

It was, hence, not difficult for Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, within the course of a few hours of discussion with his counterpart during his visit to the United States in December, to enhance the quality of their defence dialogue and strengthen the defence engagement between the two countries. Outcomes from this visit of the Defence Minister are certain to further enlarge the scope of the already booming defence relationship. Among the more significant takeaways are: the progress made regarding the joint working groups on both aircraft carrier technology and jet engine technology; the approvals given for additional numbers of Boeing P-8I maritime patrol aircraft, C-17 Globemaster-III strategic airlift aircraft, and M777 ultra-light howitzers; the progress achieved regarding long-deferred “foundational agreements” such as CISMOA (Communications and Information Security Memorandum of Agreement) and the Logistics Support Agreement (LSA), and a further strengthening of the partnership on “high technology” under the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI).

Reaffirming ties with Russia and Japan

During this same month of December, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took off for Russia to reaffirm the strong links that exist between the two nations. Statements made on the occasion reveal the determination on both sides to reinforce the strategic ties that date back to the Cold War years. Few, however, expected that the visit would also result in Russia regaining its position as India’s principal defence supplier.

The list of agreements drawn up in Moscow covers nuclear, space, energy and defence. Russia has committed [earlier] to building additional nuclear reactors at Kudankulam (Tamil Nadu) and in Andhra Pradesh. In terms of conventional energy, India has secured a bouquet of deals, including a 10 per cent stake in Russian oil company Rosneft, and commitments regarding a possible stake in another field in East Siberia. In the area of defence manufacturing, both sides have pulled out all the stops. Agreement was reached with regard to co-production of Kamov-226T utility helicopters (the bulk of which would be built in India), and the possibility of securing 48 MI-17 V5 medium-lift helicopters, S-400 Triumf/Triumph missile systems and stealth frigates.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to India, also during the same month, meantime, proved to be more than a strategic interlude, with defence, foreign policy, and economic aspects all receiving attention. Japan’s willingness to cooperate on peaceful nuclear energy will have the same kind of positive impact as that which followed the iconic India-U.S. civil nuclear agreement of 2008. Japan’s willingness to acknowledge India as a reliable and trustworthy nuclear power (despite not being a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) is again certain to have a positive impact on nuclear establishments across the world.

Japan’s willingness to share defence equipment and technology, facilitate the exchange of classified military information, and arrive at an understanding of emerging threats in the Indo-Pacific — implicit in the India-Japan Agreement with regard to freedom of navigation in the South China Sea — has opened a new chapter in relations. This was further buttressed by the provision of financial and technical aid for a high-speed rail link between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, in addition to overseas developmental assistance for various projects across India. Mr. Abe’s affirmation, that no other bilateral relationship in the world has the kind of potential which ties relations between India and Japan, was clearly no hyperbole.

The Pakistan puzzle

On the return trip from Russia, Prime Minister Modi paid a visit to Afghanistan where he inaugurated the new Afghan Parliament building (built with Indian aid). Making a stirring speech on the occasion, he complimented Afghanistan’s determination to stand up to terror from across the border, and criticised attempts made to unsettle Afghanistan through the use of terror tactics. En route to Delhi from Kabul, the Prime Minister made an “impromptu” stopover in Lahore to wish Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on his birthday. This evoked euphoric headlines in the Indian media. Not everyone, however, saw this as heralding a new chapter in India-Pakistan relations, with long-time Pakistan watchers well aware that the “path to Pakistan’s perfidy” is usually paved with good intentions on India’s part.

The real motive underlying the Prime Minister’s visit to Pakistan remains unclear. Mr. Modi is well aware that Pakistan has given no indication whatsoever of having “changed its spots”. Only a few hours prior to the Lahore visit, he had implicitly warned Afghanistan of the threat posed by Pakistan. Less than a fortnight ago while addressing the Combined Commanders’ Conference on board INS Vikramaditya, the Prime Minister had struck a sombre note, warning that “we see terrorism and ceasefire violations; reckless nuclear build-up and threats; border transgressions; and continuing military modernisation” in our neighbourhood. All this leaves little room for anyone to think that the Prime Minister nurtures any illusion of a change of heart on Pakistan’s part. It would, hence, be unrealistic to think that he was hoping to remove the obstacles that stood in the way of a reconciliation between the two countries with this grand gesture. Mr. Modi is also well aware that there can be no substitute for hard negotiations, or the need for a great deal of effort, to narrow the gap between the two countries.

The real danger is that it could lull the nation into a false sense of complacency and security on account of the circumstances surrounding this sudden move. Any mistaken step as far as Pakistan is concerned needs to be avoided. Pakistan is presently going through a very “promising” phase in its turbulent history, and is being wooed by both China and the U.S. It does not, however, show any signs that it has reduced its animosity towards India.

The potential benefits from the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor are expected to substantially improve Pakistan’s economic fortunes. The U.S., in the meantime, appears to have reversed some of the policies it had adopted after 2013, and is demonstrating a higher degree of sensitivity to Pakistan’s concerns. It is at present actively courting Pakistan in view of its strategic location vis-à-vis Afghanistan and Central Asia. The sale of additional F-16 fighter aircraft, and continuation of the Coalition Support Fund beyond 2016 reflect this. Reported U.S. support to facilitating projects in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, U.S. support for a sustained dialogue between India and Pakistan “to resolve all outstanding territorial and other disputes, including Kashmir”, and a reference to “working together to address mutual concerns of India and Pakistan regarding terrorism” in the joint statement issued following the visit of Mr. Sharif to Washington in October, well reflect some current realities. This cannot be viewed as mere straws in the wind.

It would thus be premature to offer congratulations on an end-year “breakthrough” in India-Pakistan relations. Instead, there is need for greater vigil and more careful thought on what needs to be done so as to prevent a Kargil-type situation, exploiting the current euphoria, from taking place.

(M.K. Narayanan is former National Security Adviser and former Governor of West Bengal.)

Keywords: India's diplomacy, Modi's visit to Russia, Shinzo Abe, Indo-Pak talks

Source: The Hindu, 5 -01-2016

All About Truth

J KRISHNAMURTI





What is truth? Is there such a thing at all? I know what is reality , the complexity of reality in which I have to act -not just talk about it. I have to live there, rationally , sanely , wholly, with order and so on. All that has nothing to do, or may have to do, with truth. So, I have to find out. To find out, there must be no projection of thought. So, thought realises its limitation. When the mind realises the limitation, narrowness, finiteness of thought, then only it can ask the question: what is truth?
Philosophy means love of truth, not love of thought. So there is no authority -Plato, Socrates, Buddha, but Christianity has not gone into that very deeply . They have played with words and symbols, made a parody of suffering and all the rest of it. So, the mind rejects all that, because that is all in the field of reality .Then, what is truth? Has it any relationship with reality?
That is: how can truth be used in the field of reality? Our mind says: what is the good of something if I can't use it?
Our minds are trained to be utilitarian, to be...to work in the field, in market places. If truth cannot have any value in the field of reality , it is not truth. If truth can't help me, what's the good of truth?
So, I must understand clearly that suffering, pleasure, fear and all that is in the world of reality as thought -my suffering, my fears, everything there. Therefore, truth has no relationship to reality .

IIT-Kharagpur Offers Course in Microbotics

Prachi Verma

New Delhi:





The course is being offered as part of the Global Initiative of Academic Networks

Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur has launched a course in microbotics or micro-robotics -the field deal ing with tiny robots capable o handling very small components.The course is being offered as part of the Global Initiative o Academic Networks (GIAN), a programme aimed at strength ening research collaborations between Indian and foreign in stitutes.
This is the first time that micro botics and nano-robotic manipu lation is taught as a course by an Indian institute, said CS Kumar coordinator of the course at IIT Kharagpur. Robotics, though, is already being taught in various engineering streams, such as me chanical engineering, ocean engi neering and materials science.
The applications of microbotics include automated underwater vehicle, automated ground vehi cle for mapping or accessing areas inaccessible to men, spy robots and healthcare.
“This aspect of robotics, which includes targeted motion and force-planning through manipulation in micro spaces, is gaining considerable attention in applications in medicine as well as in material sciences,“ said Kumar. Sixty students from IIT-Kharagpur and other colleges have already registered for the course. IIT-Kharagpur is planning to pursue highend research in robotics, including microbotics with commercial applications, he said.
Microbotics is the field of miniature robotics, in particular mobile robots with characteristic dimensions less than 1 mm. A nanorobot is a tiny machine de signed to perform a specific task or tasks, repeatedly and with precision at nanoscale dimensions, that is, dimensions of a few nanometres. A nanometre is one billionth of a metre.
Robotics is an integrated branch comprising domain expertise from mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, electronic engineering and computer science that deals with the design, construction, operation, and application of robots, as well as computer systems for their control, sensory feedback and information processing.
These technologies deal with automated machines that can take the place of humans in dangerous environments or manufacturing processes, or resem ble humans in appearance, behaviour or cognition.
Robotics engineers design robots, maintain them, develop new applications for them and conduct research to expand the potential of robotics.
IIT-Kharagpur has made this course in microbotics part of its curricula and its students appearing for the course will get two credits that they can add to the yearly credits they need to gather. Students from other colleges will get grades and their colleges may con vert the grades to credits.
The faculty comprises Yves Bellouard of Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, GK Ananthasuresh of Indian Institute of ScienceBangalore and experts from IITKharagpur.
The topics will cover long range motion of robotic systems like humanoids or vehicles on ground or water that would require motion planning and autonomy in operations and control.
Apart from students, mechanical, electrical and electronics engi neers, computer or research scientists interested in robotics in appli cations such as medicine, field robotics or micro-robotics, those working in robotics-related areas and faculty from academic institution can apply for the course.

Source: Economic Times, 5-01-2016

One Hundred Years Of Energisation Exercises

Paramhansa Yogananda





Health does not mean mere existence. Keeping out of the hospital is not health. To be able to resist disease, to bear strain, to stimulate mental vitality , and to feel the body as a luxury ­ as a bird feels when shooting through the air, and as a child does always ­ is health.What distilled water is to a wet battery , food is to the body-battery . Life energy in the body-battery is derived from Cosmic Energy , and from food. It is the intricate task of the life-force to distill additional life-force from nourishment taken into the body , by breaking up foods and converting them into energy . Oxygen and sunshine should have a very important place in people's lives, because of their direct energy-producing quality . And one's diet should be confined to foods that are easily converted into energy .
Good thoughts are nourishing food for the mind, while thoughts of any other nature are poisonous to body and mind. Your mental diet consists of the thoughts you think as well as the thoughts you receive from close thought-contact with your friends. Peaceful thoughts and peaceful friends always produce healthy , magnetic minds. Inner disquiet and worries, due to the wrong sort of friends or unappreciative relatives, produces an unwholesome, gloomy mind.
The mind must manifest calmness. Where worries and trials of everyday life are concerned, the mind must be like water, which does not retain any impression of the waves that play on its bosom.Through instruction on meditation, one can achieve complete calmness in the heart, lungs, and other inner organs. When muscles and inner organs are freed from motion by relaxation, the breaking down of bodily tissues and decay is temporarily inhibited. This helps to keep the bloodstream pure, for when there is decay in the body , waste products are thrown into the venous blood and poison it.
Learn to concentrate on your Life Energy and willpower, and to experien ce your subtle, spiritual nature. Life and strength do not depend solely on food or exercise, but are sustained from the powers within.
The more you depend on the will and Cosmic Energy to sustain yourself, the less your food requirements; the more you depend on food, the weaker your will and the less your recourse to Cosmic Energy .he Our thoughts, will, feeling, muscular strength, proper action of organs and glands ­ all depend for their existence on the Life Force. Billions of body cells are kept alive, properly working through this secret vital power. By consciously willing, you can draw Life Energy into the body through the medulla oblongata to replenish the energy that is expended through thoughts, feelings, and physical activities.
The will bridges the gulf between Life Energy in the body and the Cosmic Energy surrounding it. If you follow these teachings, you will learn to draw on Cosmic Life Energy to vitalise every body cell. You will experience yourself as Life Energy ­ and not merely as a body of bones and muscles. These teachings are based on the axiom: The greater the will, the greater the flow of Life Energy.
Note: Paramhansa Yogananda discovered in 1916 a unique set of 39 exercises called Energisation Exercises. These exercises enable us to draw Life Force directly into the body . This energy is quickly absorbed by the muscles, blood, bones, and sinews for cellular rejuvenation. The energisation exercises give the highest degree of energy with the least tissue destruction.