The Law of Karma

OSHO





The law of karma is not a law.It is not something scientific, like the law of gravitation. It has been hoped for centuries that if you do good, you will attain good results. If you look at nature, there are laws, but science has not come even close to detecting anything like the law of karma. If you simply say any action is bound to produce some reaction, it is possible to have scientific support for it. But we are hoping for much more. We are asking that a good action inevitably brings a good consequence with it, and the same with a bad action. Now, there are many things implied in this.The law of karma is a hope. A man wandering in darkness, groping his way , clings to anything that gives a little hope, a little light -because what you observe in life itself is something totally different from the law of karma. A man who is a criminal may succeed and become the president, the prime minister -or vice versa.
If you are living a poor, miserable life, the law of karma says it is because in a past life, you committed evil acts. If somebody is enjoying good health, money and power, you need not be jealous of him: he has done good deeds in a past life and now he is reaping the crop. He has indeed sowed the seeds in his past life.
It does not matter whether you call it good or bad, because what you call it -good or bad -will depend upon your conditioning. If you want to know what the act brings, then you have to drop your psychology; then you will know the law of karma -not before that.

The Uncouth & The Civilised -­ The Difference

Shri Shri Anandamurti





In the attraction of the Great lies the secret of greater well-being. You will have to rush towards the fundamental Source of entire creation. You will have to merge your individual stance in the absolute stance of the Supreme Transcendental Entity; advance at a speed greater than that of ordinary microcosms in the cosmic cycle.Having accelerated your speed, if you embrace the force of vidya, rejecting avidya, you will certainly reach the macrocosmic nucleus. If the formless Brahmn is accepted as the goal, one will transcend the cosmic cycle. This transcendence is not affected by the centrifugal force of macrocosmic nucleus, because that force is confined to the periphery of Saguna Brahmn. One will have to transcend the Cosmic Cycle with the help of the Cognitive Force.
To become one with the macrocosm is called liberation, and to transcend the periphery of the cosmic cycle and become one with the Formless is called salvation. The tangential Entity which connects the path of liberation and the path of salvation, who, although infinite, comes within the domain of the finite, is called Taraka Brahmn. Whether you want to become one with Purushottama, or one with the Formless Non-attributional Stance, or one with Taraka Brahmn, continue your spiritual pursuit; surrender to the force of attraction of the Great.
The one performing sadhana must be ever vigilant to ensure that the small “i“ cannot hinder spiritual progress. The ego that can so easily develop on the path of knowledge and action may not develop at all on the path of devotion. A spiritual aspirant must take the help of devotion at the final stage of spiritual attainment. If ego remains, even on the path of devotion, the best way to counteract it is to superimpose cosmic ideation on the small i-feeling through devotion.
The vanity of power of today will disappear tomorrow; the leader of today may be thrown out of office tomorrow; a man swollen with the pride of scholarship today may become abnormal tomorrow. The vanity expressed by so-called civilised human beings of today is extremely dangerous. These people hide the cruder propensities of the mind under the cloak of sweet words and decent behaviour.
They are more harmful to the well-being of the human race than so-called uncivilised humans, because they are hypocrites.
Uncivilised humans of the past may have killed 12 people at most in the battles they fought with bows, arrows, sticks and spears, but the so-called civilised human beings of today kill millions of unarmed, innocent people indiscriminately with their dreadful and lethal weapons. Human society of today is being exploited by the so-called civilised people.
All entities must advance along the path of progress. This evolution will lead to expansion of the psychic arena and, ultimately , liberation. This struggle for liberation is the struggle against those forces which attempt to thwart one's psychic expansion. These are one's enemies. Through meditation and contemplation one must surrender to the Almighty , merging one's finite identity into the Infinite. Only by surrendering one's mind to the vast macrocosm and becoming one with the Supreme Consciousness can one attain final salvation. The struggle for salvation is the struggle against those forces which strive to prevent one's total self-surrender to the Supreme.
Never retreat. Keep advancing, and you will certainly attain the highest fulfilment of your existence.

India moves up 21 places in WEF’s Gender Gap Report

Improving its position by 21 places, India has now been ranked 87th in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2016. The country was ranked 108^th in the 2015 report.

The improvement in ranking is largely driven by major improvements in the education sector that has closed the gender gap entirely in primary and secondary education, according to the report.

This jump has helped India overtake China, which is ranked 99th out of 144 countries. Iceland tops the latest rankings followed by Finland, Norway and Sweden.

The report measures gender gap as progress towards parity between men and women in four areas – educational attainment, health and survival, economic opportunity and political empowerment.

A troubling finding of the report is that the prospects of global workplace gender parity slipped further, which means economic parity between the genders may take 170 years to close.

India has made considerable strides on education attainment by moving up from 125th rank in 2015 to 113th in 2016. India has also improved its position on economic participation and opportunity.

The most significant improvement by India is in the ranking on primary and secondary education. In 2015, India was ranked 119th on enrollment in primary education and 118th on secondary education. But in the 2016 report it moved up spectacularly to rank 1 on both sub-indices.

Source: Digital Learning, 28-10-2016

Indian-origin researcher wins German green award

Shamik Chowdhury, a 29-year-old Indian-origin researcher, recently won the German Green Talent award for adopting innovative ideas to promote sustainable development, resource efficiency, cleaner production and eco-innovation.

Shamik, who is pursuing his PhD in environmental engineering from the National University of Singapore, was among 25 scholars who won the award for their innovative green ideas.

Chowdhury’s research was based on green synthesis of 2D graphene nanosheets and their self-assembly into advanced 3D macrostructures for sustainable urban development. The objective of his research was to make a city life more sustainable through green technologies that will be based on renewable feedstock.

The awards, which were held for eighth time, are given away by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

Source: Digital Learning, 2-11-2016

Unlock the marine mysteries

Dive into the blue sea and explore its depths as a marine biologist.

Studying the oceans and the animals and plants in the seas is an exciting prospect. Young minds mesmerised by documentaries on National Geographic, BBC, and Discovery Channel profess their desire to become a marine biologist. But these early desires largely fade away in high school when traditional professions beckon. Becoming a marine biologist is as challenging and rewarding a journey as any other profession. Parents who tell their kids that biology degrees are worthless, are mistaken. A biologist, similar to other professionals, come in different flavours. You could easily have a successful and secure career with a biological science background — in biotechnology, pharmacology, or marine or land-based environmental consulting. However, studying animals, whether on land or at sea requires reliable funding and luck, but mainly, tremendous patience, perseverance, and unwavering passion. There are several myths surrounding the study of biological science.

Is marine biology just about catching fish?

Marine science, marine biology, marine ecology, and oceanography are various terms to describe the study of oceans and the organisms there in. But, there are differences in areas of specialisation. A marine ecologist studies the interaction between marine organisms and their environment, while a marine biologist might be wholly focused on the behaviour and biology of one or multiple organisms. Oceanographers and marine scientists are more interested in patterns and processes that make oceans a thriving and dynamic environment that supports life and influences our climate. Often, these terms may be used interchangeably depending on individual research interests.

Yes, some marine biologists catch fish, not all. The purpose is to determine how many fish stocks there are or to set removal limits so fish can be caught sustainably. But marine biologists can also study corals, sea turtles, sharks, marine mammals, and starfish, or kelp. Focal areas could include animal physiology, life history, population dynamics, behaviour, genetics, health, cognition, ecology, disease, human impacts, ecosystem processes, and climate change effects. It could also involve prescribing policy or writing management plans to minimise threats to the marine environment, or designing a novel conservation framework.

Only biological science majors can become marine biologists

Marine science is a multi-disciplinary field that deals with the physics, chemistry, biology, and socio-economics of the ocean.

Conservation problems are complex and require diverse skill sets and minds to find solutions. Scientists studying marine organisms or habitats come from different backgrounds ranging from engineering, zoology, to economics. These days, Ph.D. is the absolute minimum for success or advancement in the field. Undergraduate and graduates from varied disciplines can still pursue a Ph.D. in marine science or similar fields, as long as they have field-relevant experience or exemplary quantitative and analytical skills.

While having a biology or ecology background is strongly recommended, it is not the only consideration. Given the high level of competition, students must possess a wide array of skills, such as programming languages (example, R, MatLab), advanced statistics, modeling, bioinformatics, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Scuba certification is good to have, but not essential. A strong foundation in the core sciences (maths, physics, chemistry, and biology) is incredibly valuable and needed. But, bookish skills need to be supplemented with field and/or laboratory skills.

Budding scientists must know how to work independently and in teams with different organisms or in different environments. Ability to develop new software or hardware to tackle a variety of questions is a plus. There is no end to how diverse skills and disciplines can have unexpected applications in marine science and conservation.

Academic brilliance matters, communication doesn’t

Science is increasingly about translating technical jargon into simple language. Formula-speak may be attractive among peers but has little relevance to society. Today, scientists have to skillfully connect with non-scientists and decision-makers. Knowing how to speak, write and communicate effectively in English or multiple languages is an important skill to cultivate. Authoring or co-authoring scientific or non-scientific publications provides added advantage when seeking admissions in graduate schools in the United States or the United Kingdom.

Education pathways

For the passionate and aspiring, there are a few universities or institutions in India that offer dedicated coursework or field experience in marine biology.

Institutions such as Nature Conservation Foundation, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Wildlife Conservation Society, Wildlife Trust of India, and Centre for Ecological Sciences, offer excellent training and exposure to wildlife biology/ecology, environmental sciences and field skills.

Ultimately, the best place to seek advanced marine science training is still the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia (in that order).

The writer is a

marine biologist.

Keywords: Marine biology, careers, Nature Conservation Foundation, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Wildlife Conservation Society, Wildlife Trust of India, and Centre for Ecological Sciences

Source: The Hindu, 28-10-2016

Green farms and clean air

The massive pollution cloud enveloping northern India every year is a good example of the disconnect between official policy and ground realities. It has been known for long that burning of agricultural waste in the northern States significantly contributes to the poor air quality in large parts of the Indo-Gangetic Basin, with local and cascading impacts felt from Punjab all the way to West Bengal. Harmful fine particulate matter measuring 2.5 mm in diameter (PM2.5) is among the pollutants released. Punjab responded to the issue with a prohibition on the burning of paddy straw, and the launch of initiatives aimed at better utilisation of biomass, including as a fuel to produce power. Yet, there is no mission mode approach to the annual crisis. The efforts do not match the scale of agricultural residues produced, for one, and fail to address farmers’ anxiety to remove the surplus from the fields quickly to make way for the next crop. The national production of crop waste is of the order of 500 million tonnes a year, with Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and West Bengal topping the list. Again, 80 per cent of straw from paddy is burnt in some States, impacting air quality and depriving croplands of nutrients.

It is an irony that the national capital and several other cities suffer crippling pollution in the post-monsoon and winter months partly due to biomass burning, when demand for fodder is rising and the surplus material could be used productively. Pilot projects to produce power using biomass demonstrated in Rajasthan, and mechanised composting and biogas production units of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute could be scaled up, and farmers given liberal support to deploy such solutions. Given the twin benefits of pollution abatement and better productivity, conservation agriculture needs to be popularised. This would encourage farmers to use newer low-till seeding technologies that allow much of the crop residues to remain on site, and curb the release of a variety of pollutants. Burning residues add greenhouse gases that cause global warming, besides pollutants such as carbon monoxide, ammonia, nitrous oxide and sulphur dioxide that severely affect human health. Sustained work is called for, given that higher agricultural productivity to meet food needs is inevitable, with a cascading increase in biomass volumes. The challenge is to identify measures to utilise it. By one estimate, if India can reach its own air quality standards for fine particulate matter from all sources, annual premature deaths can be cut by almost 10 per cent. A programme to cut pollution from waste-burning would be a good start.

Keywords: Air pollution, Air quality, Delhi air pollution, Diwali

Source: The Hindu, 3-11-2016

Nationalism will improve air quality

The implication is that Hinduism has made Delhi’s air, which was already lethal, poisonous. The suggestion has naturally disgusted the patriots who cannot endure the defamation of Diwali and fireworks. Why isn’t anybody talking about the other pollutants — the huge amounts of road dust in the National Capital Region, for instance, that surely comes from the Islamic deserts of West Asia, and the industries of modern capitalism, which is probably a Christian idea in the first place?

Meanwhile, serious medical advice in the region sounds like lowbrow satire. People are advised to stop exercising because intense aerobic activity, especially in the outdoors, would make them inhale too much poison into the lungs. In fact, people are advised to stay at home and not engage with the world outside. If you must go to work at all it would be prudent to avoid public transport and instead be ensconced in an air-conditioned car that would further gas the rest. Children are advised not to be children because they generally breathe twice as fast as adults, a foolish thing to do in the circumstance.

All major Indian cities have poor air quality, and most Indians breathe such air. Across north India the condition worsens in the winter. Even so, it is not a major political issue. The poor somehow have other priorities than air. In fact, electoral politics is under pressure to preserve some of the air pollutants and to condemn any smart political move, like inconveniencing car owners, as a silly idea. So it may appear, at first glance, that we are doomed to breathe such air just as we are doomed to suffer the many indignities of the nation.

But there is a reason why India might surprise itself and clean its air. And the reason is the rising middle class nationalism, which is inherently an elite asset that has the capacity to tame the sway of electoral politics.

Every generation reinvents nationalism and the emotion is mostly dangerous, but it is highly useful to some specific fields, like sexy civic infrastructure and space research. The reason why air quality would be such a beneficiary of nationalism lies in the under-appreciated origins of the new Indian nationalism: At least two generations from influential sections of the population realising that India, and not the West, is home. The reason why they feel this way is a complex mixture of economics, nature of job markets, the comfort of the classist, feudal Indian culture and the hysteria of parenthood. These are powerful forces that have ensured that Indians have chosen to live in the gas chambers of north India than in, say, paradisiacal Canada.

In contrast to the previous generations of the elite, whose mission was escaping India, the present upper middle class has high stakes in surviving India. It is inevitable that they would influence the government and the society to clean the air. It is hard to miss the fact that they have already set the process in motion. The high media interest, for example, in air quality is very recent and an unprecedented development. Such awareness is possible because there is a high interest in the issue among the consumers of the media.

Nationalism always manages to find very sacred reasons to realise its material goals. Usually it can convert spurious reasons into sacred, but it has no need for that talent to create alarm over air pollution. Air, everybody agrees, is sacred.

Already, the influential classes have framed air quality as a central part of India’s economic well-being, hence a valid short term political goal. There is no such thing, perhaps, as a long term political goal.

There is another powerful force at play that points to why we must be hopeful that nationalism would clean the air. Across the world, and across the ages, every avatar of nationalism has begun with pride, which is potentially dangerous, but it has then usually evolved into shame, which is very useful. India’s neo-nationalism is searching for respectable shames and urban air quality is a worthy disgrace. We must not underestimate what nationalism can achieve when it is inspired by shame instead of pride.

In Indian society there are not many causes that can bring all types of economic and cultural elites together. For instance, there can never be a serious movement in India to protect heritage monuments because the ones that have survived are mostly, if not all, the taunts of British and Islamic colonisers. Also, while Indian nationalism would greatly alter civic infrastructure in the future, it would not improve aspects like road discipline because informality is so fundamental to Indian society that even the elite is not very convinced about the value of absolute order. In any case, all over the world order is collapsing. So, improving air quality can become a primary non-ideological cause of nationalism. Considerable intellectual and economic resources would be poured into the cause in the coming years.

In the past decade, especially in the past five years, the urban Indian middle classes have transformed. The conversations across Indian cities have changed, and are now identical to what was once Delhi’s unique dinner chatter. The English-speaking elites have become so politically aware that it is hard to remember the time, not long ago, when most of them did not know the name of their chief minister. Such changes were the consequences of emerging nationalism that, at the time, did not have a definite name. The sweeping sentiment of elite nationalism was not merely about Narendra Modi and beef and Olympic honours. It was also about making India a better place. It is in that family of thought that air quality figures. When nationalism is driven by shame, the prospects are often good.

Source: Hindustan Times, 2-11-2016