A learned man is an idler who kills time with study. Beware of his false knowledge: it is more dangerous than ignorance.

Why Arundhati Roy thought she is not a veteran artist, she may not be bound by the political and artistic beings of the nation. So many much better artists or not even one book wonders would never demand to or say what they want about the internal or external policies of this country, about the diction and the right of the people to break away from the union. One cannot set these boundaries as we are already after the ban on Salman Rushdi’s Satanic Verses. We have become a nation of self sectoring cowards. As an artist whether it be M.F.Hussain, Anupam Kher, Nasaruden Shah or Arundhathi Roy, we should never say anything which is outside our power.
Rattling before an audience is entirely different from writing a book. Here Arundhathi’s is not a matter of writing something related to Kashmir. There is always freedom for a writer or an artist. In the case of political activist there are certain restrictions too. When one is operating as a political activist has to be more cautious about his/her words. One respects Arundhati much better than any other respected woman. The kind of argument which Arundhati spills is bound to make it more rational. When she asks people of Kashmir to ……………… . Every Indian has feelings. The feelings of soldiers, feelings of mothers who lost their children, the feelings of hundreds of pundits who are forced to live in camps. The common man has very high feelings. There is a concept that writers, actors and artists only have the feelings and upheavals and they only feel rightly about a fact or a situation. There are many who have lost heavily in the context course. They are the most important people here. Nobody cares that an artist is carrying freedom of expression of everybody else. It is not only if Arundhati Roy is right or wrong. The point of issue is, do artists of varying degree like M F Hussain to any other vernacular artist have the right to speak their mind to a critical political issue like this. Do they have the right to speak anything directing the split up of India? A citizen’s freedom is limited by the constitution. It has expressly stated that every citizen should think and act to maintain the clauses of the constitution and the integrity of the country even if it encroaches upon the freedom of his/her speech. Freedom of speech doesn’t mean…………. Is India becoming an intolerable country? The government is becoming highly irresponsible to allow anything to go just because somebody is a writer, a painter, an academician a……… It doesn’t mean that he/she is above the constitution. Then what is the need of a constitution. If we are going to speak on these lines, then there is no need for constitution, no laws…… we will go jolly good society where everyone will speak his mind
What we need to do is understand the person. May be Arundhati is just trying for another prize .. a greedy cunning personality .. nothing else . She sounds like ISI megaphone. Is she balanced and thoughtful in her saying. We have people around us who live here and later for a small material gain sell their souls, take shelter outside without having the least shame to be a slave of that country. What we need to do is to understand these types of people. I feel deeply sorry for the soldiers who gave away their life to win Kashmir for Indians, Indians like Arundhati Roy.
So sad, a booker prize winner saying this. Is she aware that she's insulting the martyrdom of thousands of soldiers who fought and died for it?

Gambling promises the poor what property performs for the rich--something for nothing.

Special KSRTC buses operating to the all pilgrim centres were allowed to bear signs but these would be avoided totally from now on. According to the corporation, this step is being adopted to avoid problems related to religious sentiments.
Indians, especially keralites irrespective of religion have strong faith and belief in god. Over generations we are taught and brought up by inculcating this belief right from the indecipherable stage. Definitely the concept of God is the best available method to attain high mental states to tap the mental energies lying dormant in humans. This faith in God gives one more confidence and energy and helps to transfer this high mental energy in to very creative state and style.
It is certain that one would be scared to go in a street which is totally deserted. So a belief of the presence of that unknown, unseen, spirit which one calls omnipresent and omnipotent on the street will help gain confidence, proportionate to one’s faith. Here the presence of a total stranger relives the dreary solitude. Hence we say that God resides in every person on the street. Faith, which when present in high proportions in a person, takes him closer to spiritual state. It is downright foolishness to believe that one religion is better than another, and to fight for the religion. Religions are good and they are there to help individuals. Religion and God are best paths for mental, physical and social well being.
A pilgrim takes pride of his status when accepted thus, for he is in the effort to lessen his troubles and reach the heights of his dreams through pilgrimage. He believes that every word and action is carried out by god than by himself. Symbolic of this faith and belief, he courses through actions like putting sandal paste on forehead, wearing dress which suits his identity as a devotee, decorating the vehicle on which he travels by all means. Here his aim and enjoyment is his destination from where he hopes to gain the power to bring his mind and body to indefinable placidity. Allowing to bear devotional signs, words or slogans like “Swami Saranam”, Saranam Ayyappa” “Amme Narayana” “Malayattoor Nadha” “Allah the protector” be on the bus or on the dress is mere sensibility and love to fellow beings. Ears are to hear, tongue to speak, eyes to see and skin to feel. But these feelings should never be confined only as physical or materialistic but be seen emotional, mental and soul searching. Soulless decisions will hurt and destroy the attitude and may induce an instinct to react maliciously. Hegel was right when he said that “we learn from history that man can never learn anything from history”. A fool's brain digests philosophy and sensibility into folly and fail to understand that if the lesser mind could measure the greater, as a foot rule can measure a pyramid, there would be finality in universal suffrage. As it is, the political problem remains unsolved as all politicians are laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion. This is due to the fact that they are power sizzled and soporific.

The more things a man is ashamed of, the more respectable he is.

It would be great if people never got angry at someone for doing something they have done themselves. This never happens as we consider individuality is somebody’s business and we just have to copy it in to our life. When we go wrong we choose to blame that somebody. We do not see the value is ours, our own. To whomsoever we give that value, our value rises.
We become perfect individuals only when our values and actions are determined by our own distinctive judgment. Almost all we say and do is in conformity with the beliefs and behavior of other members of our family, community or nation. The way of dressing, eating, choice of education and career, greeting friends or strangers, codes of conduct, judgments of other people, sense of superiority or inferiority to others depending on wealth, class, education or caste - all indicate that we are not distinct social individuals in the true sense. We in many ways try to convince ourselves and others of our uniqueness by affirming our favorite habits. But these are only skin deep appearances. Individuality is not a surface difference. It is born and emerges from deep within us.
There are so many factors in the society that moulds and governs an individual. It is his attitude which runs the whole game in the fair way. He should think and form his own opinion of social and national issues. Accept only after understanding them to be right and not because they are spoken or endorsed by others. The right should be decided on the strength of his mental judgment and do what he feels to be right than what others do or approve. He should rely on himself and accept only what is due to him from others and judge himself in terms of what he knows himself to be as a human being. Individuality of those who disagree with him must be respected. Their criticisms should be taken as their personal opinion and impartially evaluate the truth of in them, rather than taking them as abuse that evokes his anger, defensiveness or resentment. Becoming a perfect individual is the highest human achievement of self realization which is the direct path to supreme accomplishment in life.
Each individual is birthed from the societal stew, yet our lives are our own expression and responsibility. Part of being an adult is to learn how to stop blaming others and start manifesting ourselves. This may be hard to do unless we carefully examine what we believe, where we came from, and how these two things relate to each other. Individual mind is very much influenced by other’s minds as it tends to think what others think, and create along the lines others have created. Individuality is to break out of this mode, to think differently and manifest what has not existed before. In fact, to think and create something out of nothing is the process of creation itself.
A person who becomes consciously aware of his or her true self will facilitate the expression of his or her individuality, thereby accelerating the process of personal accomplishment and growth for themselves and the world. A moral sense has traditionally been considered to be a unique attribute of the human personality. The transformation from a biological organism to a socially responsible individual is the hallmark of the development of personality and is a shared social development necessary for viable human society.
Society can influence the behavior of its members in many ways by making laws to give severe punishments for antisocial behaviors. It can develop a strong desire for ethics and morals through religious institutions. It can hold professionals to strong ethical codes of conduct, educate and inform them through school systems and media outlets. But a society can control the behavior of its citizens by virtue of the inherent ability for mental growth and maturity, which is called self-actualization or individuation, a natural inclination of humans to behave in a perfect moral or ethical manner.

I SHED MY TEARS

As an Indian I am really sick and tired of all this quite introspective talk of cricket. When the poor have been starving to death in India and prices of all commodities shooting up so high out of control, the nation and state are busy in sweeping, swabbing and drying the stadium at Kochi.
India is cricket, is a misconception held by many in the country itself. Commercialization of cricket has undoubtedly made this misconception. Has cricket the potential to entertain the average and the poor lot of India. Cricket got transformed in to mere gambling. The only acceptable moral response is to put a ban to cricket till it furnishes proof of redeeming itself. Many may think that a ban would be too harsh akin like throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Sure it could be like. If a lot is saved by such an action, it must be made a rule. India has become both home to the cricket world’s greatest ill gained riches and its largest illegal betting syndicate. The parasitic relationship between players and sports agents has reached alarming proportions. It’s a seething mass of greed and official complicity, of agents trying to fully monetize the skill in the race to sign young talents. All possible should be done to keep filth out of the system. Punishment meted to the spotted guilty (players and agents) should be severe enough to act as a deterrent. A law specifically against wrongdoing in sport will help well. There’s no harm in having such a law, because match-fixing is happening far too often.
Cricket in India has earned a lot of money for people who made cricket their business. The popularity of cricket in India has made Indian cricketers extremely popular and rich. However, we can see a negative of this over-importance and over-glorifying of cricket in India that is the negligence of other sports in India. India is actually a hockey-playing nation where Indians used to emerge as champions in hockey. Hockey is the national game of India and not cricket.(A non gambling game also)
India winning the finals in international hockey tournament is a proud moment for our country. But the ignorant, stupid and insensitive public whose love is only for cricket did not cheer, nor did they care about the achievement. Even the media refused to give the deserving note for the achievement because it wasn’t as money-pulling as cricket. Cricket has made our nation a sport weakling. Present day cricket is very bad for the nation and it will turn our country into a sports failed nation. If we need to show ourselves as a strong, powerful nation, we need to change this attitude. The government should spend more on new football fields, swimming pools, tennis courts, badminton courts and other facilities, instead of spending so much money on new cricket stadiums. Or else the coming generations will not forgive us for believing that our glorious nation has nothing but crummy corporate cricket to offer.

No man stands so straight as when he stoops to help the deserving.

"JAI HO CHILE"
Undaunted courage and indomitable spirit, possessing the firmness and perseverance of purpose for which they worked together day and night, eliminating the very word ‘impossible’, not to divert the attitude or lose heart of the whole people of Chile in their attempt in bringing back their dear 33 who have become dearest when sight was denied by nature and whose very life was thought to last only for days. Rescue of the miners from the longest underground entrapment in human history which trapped them 69 days has taught the whole world the meaning of the proverb “Where there is a will there is a way” through action.
Atacama desert that holds Chile's San Jose gold and copper mine has literarily changed in to a place of worship for the whole world witnessing the scenes through visual media, holding their breath. The incarcerated fears of all breed, freed out as tears of joy and victory. They did what we all wished when Florencio Avalos, 31 slipped out of the phinix wearing sunglass that protected him from the bright light as he was being transited from the little illuminated underground, radiating his brilliant smile to all the viewers making many burst in to loud cry of in-explainable emotion.
Any group kept in isolation cannot remain healthy for more than a month without becoming mad. President Sebastian Pinera Chile's first elected right-wing president in a half-century, did the best in making the venture success. Credit goes to the shift foreman Luis Alberto Urzua aged 54, who helped the trapped miners endure 17 days in isolation before it was discovered that men had survived the mine collapse. With Urzua by his side, Mr. Sebastian Pinera led the crowd in singing Chile’s national anthem.
Pinera cracked a joke by saying ‘welcome to life’ to Victor Segovia which is never an overstatement on such a day of miracle. All the miners were safely brought above ground in 22 hours, 37 minutes, after the operation started.
The purpose of life is to be happy. From the moment of birth, every human being wants happiness and does not want suffering. Neither social conditioning nor education nor ideology affects this. Hence, it is important to learn that love towards fellow beings and hard work will bring about the greatest degree of happiness.

UGLY ART

Every day of their lives, women face what can only be described as an assault on their fundamental right to free movement and personal dignity. The sexual harassment that women are subjected to constitute a serious infringement of women's basic rights which are unique to them. It is imperative that women themselves assert their rights, fight collectively, awaken others who bear their humiliation in silence and find new ways of defending their rights .Women in India experience eve-teasing almost in every phase of her life every day, anywhere and everywhere ,on the roads, in the buses, railway stations, trains.. It is a clear case of sexual violation but most women prefer to ignore it as the authorities and the law-enforcing machinery are not always helpful and in fact connive with hooligans and criminals. As the situation deteriorates, in the context of hooliganism, harassment and official apathy, women should organize and assert themselves in the most effective way.
No girl can escape a derisive comment, uncouth staring, pinching, stalking, hooting, singing with sexual undertones and flashing objects or the ugly exposure of an ugly man. As they try to board a bus or train they are subjected to a squeeze here a touch there or a poking in the most undesirable place. There are those who make it a point to press against a woman in a crowded bus or train and enjoy the pleasure of the continuing with the pressure maintained at peak levels. If she does not protest, the thing will go on until the natural pressure releasing system comes to work. . No woman-whatever be her age-will be spared. Imagine their plight at night or after dusk has fallen.Sexual harassment and assault are targeted at women due to the view that women can be controlled and manipulated as there is a very false notion that females are the weaker sex. Assault is committed not only for sexual gratification but also to exert power or rather show superiority. In all societies and in almost all cases one can see women as victims and men as perpetrators.

Exhibitionism a psychological disorder causing a compulsion to show the genitals in public is yet another type of eve teasing. In Kerala no girl can pass alone through the roads without getting victimized to this nasty art of the psycho-neuro patients. Many of these ‘artists’ dressed well wait the whole day at less traffic parts of the roads to perform.

NEGATIVE FOR POSITIVE

In the forthcoming panchayat/municipal/corporation election, as has become the practice, the choice we get to exercise will be voting for A,B,C……. or Z. It’s bad that there isn’t barely any choice. Worse still, though all A to Z may turn out to be criminals as has been the reality earlier in some constituencies. Often a voter is faced with the choice between a crook and a criminal, which is no choice at all. Why to choose between two evils? Behind the noisy and colorful facade of elections, political parties decide which candidate they will field regardless of the background. He may not be a criminal before law, as he is not convicted or punished but the society would not be in a position to accept him as their representative. Vote we must, but the question is for whom, if the choice happens to be between two devils. To vote without a real choice is not fully democratic. Hence an option of ‘do not vote for any of the above candidates’ has the potential of giving voters some real choice, taking them closer to real democracy. It can nudge political parties to select better candidates. To make this effective, a rule should be made that the winning candidate should get a definite percentage of the total voters or else would require re-polling, that too with the earlier candidates not being allowed to contest again. This will act as Negative polling. The very need to resolve the dilemma of political nihilism and effective political participation in the present state of democratic system. As the Negative polling accounts “Negative Votes” which can give the quantum of negativity of the voters it is the best step towards fair election.
It is essential that the best available candidates should be chosen as people’s representatives for proper governance of the country. This can be best achieved through men/women of high moral and ethical values, who win the elections on positive votes, obtained on their own merit and not by the process of elimination based on comparative demerits. But what if no candidate of attractive merit and established characters comes to the election? Will the voters still have to select the lesser of two evils? Will they still have to pick from a slate of unworthy candidates in today’s world of choice? If the electors decide that none of the candidates is worth their vote, what is the way out? There is no scope for a voter to refuse to vote. Providing an extra button in the electronic voting machines that says ‘none of the above’ will enable the voter to exercise his right in secrecy and also will convey a memorandum of anger of the voter to the political mentors.
If this is exercised, parties are sure to learn to be fair and sensible. The purpose of the exercise is not to ask voters to boycott voting but rather to nudge political parties to select better candidates. Democracy is all about choice. This choice can be better expressed by giving the voters an opportunity to verbalize themselves unreservedly and by imposing least restrictions on their ability to make such choice. Pressing the button of ballot machine is not just the pressing of a button, but it is the expression of sincere choice through intelligence, sensitivity and understanding, which are fundamentals for democracy.
What could the voters in a constituency do if they did not want to vote for those who are not worthy? There is no option currently; but there could easily be one. That is "None" at all.

“Every one thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself”

Leo Tolstoy said “Every one thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself”. Leadership remains in short supply in India which hardly follows the normal election conventions. Ideology, if it has to withstand the test of time, could never remain in frozen state. It has to go through stages of evolution. This should be the scale in judging political ideology. Every political ideology has its growth cycle. The pillars of nation states rest on well defined ideology.
We think that national enemy is somewhere lying at the other side of the boarder of our country and spend huge amounts on procuring weapons to defend. But that the real national enemy is within our own country, along with us and moving with us which is corruption. Abuse of public power for private gains is corruption. The constitutional right to govern the state has been taken for granted as a right to corruption. It is so much so that corruption has almost become an accepted reality and a way of life in Indian society. Degrading of moral values is the most endemic and entrenched manifestation of poor governance.
Not only the corruption that is worrying this country, but the criminal character and attitude of the people involved, the evils associated and the determination of those people to suppress, deface and dilute the issues is more disturbing. Really people are confused as for whom to blame for the sad state of affairs in our country. When it comes to the public, it is the “yadhaa raaja, tadhaa praja” attitude. How the rulers live, the same way people live. They do not have any thing of their own and so flexible that they just imitate the rulers. In the organized corruption, one clever and corrupt makes ground for corruption, silently drags all the people around him and swiftly infects this disease to as many people as possible. He pulls, traps, and entangles more and more innocent people into the ring and creates a wall around him with these innocent people.
India is the largest democracy in the world. Indian politicians, who are at the helm of affairs or holding power, to transfer power legitimately to their wards ignoring or simply overlooking the claim of other able politicians in their bid to remain in power permanently, have converted democracy into hereditary democracy. The motives are to enjoy enormous powers and prestige; they are inured to it, dislike to shift the balance of power and amassing enormous wealth and unaccounted black money, disproportionate to income.
Political competence neither comes by conventional education alone, nor by mere acquaintance or association or heritage as well. A competent political leader’s wife, son or daughter need not be equally competent. Most of them do not know real public service. Degeneration of our democratic framework can be traced back to this dangerous reality. There is no minimum qualification to enter this profession and there are no minimum standards to be maintained for climbing the career ladder. The most unqualified and unscrupulous are proving to be most successful in politics. Those who are more visible inside and outside the parliament are those who do not participate in the law making process and debates about the country’s development and future. Most of them are blissfully ignorant of the requirements of a struggling population and the options available in terms of technology, infrastructure and resources for taking India forward. Many are sitting in the law making bodies only by virtue of their heredity or seniority in career politics. Once out of power, many of them will be like fish out of water.
Politics should not become a profession but professionals are needed in politics if development and deliverance are the purpose of governance. It is time for democratic India to think seriously about minimum qualifications for being in politics. Left to career and hereditary politicians, Indian democracy where there is one out of every 27 persons living in slums and one out of every 5 persons going to bed without food and each person living in India carries Rs. 22,500 public debt on his/her head; Rs.1300 is paid towards the interest alone every year by every citizen including the infant child will be in shambles in not so distant future.
The present rule of our elected governments is to spend the first year for the celebration of victory, lobbying for the choice post in government etc. The next on studying & understanding the problems, situation, status, areas, approach, strategy, actions needed for the development, administration, mechanism, system etc. Third for making proposals, getting funds, meetings and negotiations. Fourth for making plans which are never practical. And the fifth, time to prepare for the battle once again to win in the next elections.
If we fail to prevent the degeneration of democracy into hereditary democracy, it may deteriorate further in the near future, making every system a casualty, posing threat to very existence of democracy.

SPOONERISM

Homesickness was the most miserable heartache in my younger days. The school hostel with little facilities of entertainment made me think ever so many times of running in to one of the night’s darkness, not to disappear but to see and enjoy the panic stricken faces of the warden and his aids, the kitchen crew, when they found me missing at the mess roll call. Sadism? Yes, at times this art provides an enjoyment, satisfaction or both, to all I feel. But Nanni never let this happen. It was the watchdog of the hostel, ever free to go anywhere any time and never let others enjoy freedom. He was extremely faithful to his master the warden and hence the name, which in Malayalam means faith. His barks switched on his masters mouth to yell “All get in. Don’t repeat” as if he had seen somebody trying to sneak out. Though there were about sixty inmates, I failed to get along with the dramas which some staged having no talent in acting or go for movies with them for mere impatience to hold myself in the cine hall for so long as three hours. Being very friendly with books found them "The House that Jack built!". My father despite his hectic schedules visited me at least twice a month, never forgetting to buy one or two books of my taste. One day he handed me a book about Spooner and his art Spoonerism the type of which was never in my taste list. There are times when the least preferred becomes the most enjoyed. When one has no other choice. I also took the book one day as the most preferred. The start itself startled me and the art there in taught me to get happily engaged in my spare time.
Spoonerism is an error in speech or deliberate play on words in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are misplaced. It is named after the Reverend William Archibald Spooner (1844–1930), Warden of New College, Oxford, who was notoriously prone to this tendency. Spoonerism is commonly heard as slips of the tongue resulting from unintentionally getting one's words in a tangle. Spooner had a nervous tendency to sometimes transpose initial letters or half-syllables in speech. This tendency became the hilarious transpositions known as Spoonerism. Dr. Spooner's occasional transpositions created a reputation and started a fad. Students began devising transpositional puns, and attributing them to him. Despite such occasional presumptions for almost seventy years Spooner was a much loved character in the city of Oxford with an opinion that was highly regarded. He had a successful career as an eloquent and amusing lecturer on divinity, Aristotle's Ethics, philosophy and ancient history and unconsciously won for himself an enviable reputation as a genial, kindly and hospitable man. But Spooner was no featherbrain. In fact his mind was so nimble his tongue couldn't keep up. The Greeks had a word for this type of impediment long before Spooner was born: metathesis. It means the act of switching things around
He seems also to have been something of an absent-minded professor. He once invited a faculty member to tea "to welcome our new archaeology Fellow."
"But, sir," the man replied, "I am our new archaeology Fellow."
"Never mind," Spooner said, "Come all the same."After a Sunday service he turned back to the pulpit and informed his student audience: "In the sermon I have just preached, whenever I said Aristotle, I meant St. Paul."
.He reprimanded one student for "fighting a liar in the quadrangle" and another who "hissed my mystery lecture." To the latter he added in disgust, "You have tasted two worms."
He raised his toast to Her Highness Victoria: "Three cheers for our queer old dean!" During WWI he reassured his students, "When our boys come home from France, we will have the hags flung out."
Spooner died on 29 August 1930. Let us salute the eponymous master of the verbal somersault. He left us all a legacy of laughter. He also gave the dictionary a new entry: spoonerism. The very word brings a smile. It refers to the linguistic flip-flops that turn "a well-oiled bicycle" into "a well-boiled icicle" and other ludicrous ways speakers of English get their mix all talked up.

SUPREME VERDICT

The Allahabad High Court has given us a supreme verdict to look in to our inner self and find the soul of pure Indian than mere religionist.
Hindu-Muslim unity is one of the most essential pillars for the existence on our nation which is symbolic of ‘UNITY IN DIVERSITY’. At a national level, the secular restraint works quite effectively, at a regional or local level it risks falling apart completely. In any outbreak of communal violence locally less numbered communities often have to pay a heavier price. The preservation of peace and harmony requires prevention at all levels in ensuring that incendiary incidents do not occur, and the reaction to them is immediately controlled. All communities need to be extra vigilant and isolate irresponsible and provocative elements, rather than cover up for them. Religious leaders and theologists from all religions over the country should come together to renew the different religious perspective and adopt singularism.(all religions form the integral part of one and are equal) One of the most important methods of conflict resolution is through effective communication between different religious communities so that rumours can be squashed and problems be solved before they become too big.
Religious principles are intended for the whole of mankind. If any particular section of humanity does not follow the great virtues taught by religion - such as kindness, patience, tolerance and understanding, it would be difficult for others to live peacefully. It is quite natural for cunning and cruel people to take advantage of any kind of virtue. The religionists must see that those who fight and shed blood in the name of religion, do not follow religious principles and do not serve the cause of humanity. They fight for their own personal gain or power using religion. Those who truly practice a religion have no reasons to fight. They settle their problems in the most peaceful manner. A true religion never encourages any form of violence under any circumstance. One religionist can live and work with other religionists without anydiscrimination.
Because of the atrocities that had been done and are still continuing in the name of religion, many people are disillusioned at the mention of the very word, 'religion'. Materialism, hypocrisy and fanaticism masquerading under the guise of religion have caused great injustices to mankind. The true religious values are rapidly disappearing from the minds of men as they run in search of fake myths. On one hand great religions of the world are breaking into myriads of forms while on the other some are going all out to ridicule religion. The time has come for religionists of the country to get together and introduce religious values in their proper perspective, instead of merely arguing and quarrelling over the differences of religious ideologies and mythologies.
Religion should not be confined to worshipping and praying only. Religion is not a means for lip service only but a practical medium for man to act harmlessly, to be of service to others, to teach everyone to be good and to gain liberation, peace and real happiness. Each person has three natures, That of Animal, Human and the Divine. The purpose of religion is to help human beings realize their noble divine nature.
Different religions may have different beliefs and views regarding the beginning and the end of life, as well as different interpretations regarding the nature of ultimate salvation. But one should not bring forward such discordant issues to create conflict, confrontation, clashes, hatred and misunderstanding.
All are calling on the same God. Some the formless, and some with forms. Let one meditate on God with form, if he believes in form, and another who does not believe in any form, meditate on the formless God. But dogmatism must be avoided. The attitude must be that all religions are right and for the good of the people. A religion which regards ultimate reality as impersonal truth and at the same time recognizes the validity of its concrete manifestations for the benefit of struggling aspirants cannot but admit the validity of all religious ideals and show them respect.
“Personal God the ultimate reality” principle is wrong. A man’s spiritual life and method of worship are determined by his inner evolution. Religion is not God, but shows the path to God. Clocks and religions should be corrected from time to time. As flowing rivers, be Ganga, Yamuna,Godavari or Sindhu disappear in the sea losing their names and forms, so are the religions. They also attain the ONENESS. Nobody can distinguish a Hindu from a Muslim, a Christian or a Jew, when they are absorbed in the infinite spirit.
The time has come to play a pro-active role in schools and colleges and introduce inter-religious education that can promote communal harmony as part of the curriculum. We must work towards creating alternative curriculum material, which present a more balanced view of religions, as well as promote respect for all religious traditions.

Fraudulent and misleading ads

Advertisements influence our life to superlative extent. In all walks of life we swallow the advertisements as such and show our pockets wide open to be picked with ease. Here we lose our analytical ability or rather get in to the fancy of ads. No other animal on the whole earth will ever show its head to the ‘predator’ like humans. Here public the host, is the prey and the fraudulent product launcher the parasite, is the predator. Advertisement misleads or affects the judgment of the consumer or which, for many reasons, is detrimental to him. We should check certain factors like the characteristics of the goods or services, price, the conditions governing the supply of the goods or the provision of services, the nature, qualities and rights of the advertiser etc in to account to determine whether advertising is misleading in nature or not.
Why does the market need such a lot of advertisements? Obviously for certain vested interests like unhealthy competition (comparative advertising), promotion of inferior quality goods,……….. the list goes up to direct cheating.
Comparative advertising identifies a competitor or goods or services offered by a competitor.
• Here we need to establish some criteria to make sure that a comparative advertisement is not misleading but acts only as a legitimate means of informing consumers of what is in their interest. It should never create confusion in the market place between the advertiser and a competitor, thereby putting the customer in confusion or in a state of dilemma. Discrediting or denigrating the trade marks, trade names or other distinguishing signs of a competitor should never be adopted.
• Very recent ads of oil which claims to make body slim is misleading. Countless consumers nationwide are being victimized by these type of advertisers. Marketers are constantly looking for ways by which they can sell their commodities at a profit as most of them employ unethical mechanisms or methods which are objectionable and questionable. The body massaging oils like Lavana Thailam help only temporarily shrinking the physique as they contain some ingredients like rock-salt, which helps to decrease the body size by removing water to a great extent, a process called osmosis. (Can call it as salting or a method very similar to or next to it) Have faith in yourself and be motivated. Better you choose a gym or a health club which you consider most safe (Just for women, in case optical eyes may scan and record your curve lines!!) and compromises well with you. If you have a very busy schedule a little conscious in the regular activities will help you stay slim and fit at no extra cost.
• Imagine if you will, that you are a woman with dyed blonde hair and you have advanced gum disease due mostly to the fact that you have never seen, let alone used a toothbrush. You now have some insight into the star of this commercial. The highlight comes when the woman recoils in pain from incidental bristle contact, as if she were brushing with a steak knife. The point is hammered in several times as the voice-over repeats the word "hurt" in the language the ad is telecasted but non-synchronized lip movements. It gets better at in a few seconds, when star uses subtle non-verbal cues to communicate to the audience which toothbrush she prefers. The "conventional" toothbrush receives a look of contempt and scorn where as the "magic toothbrush" receives an appreciative head nod.
• Another funny ad of a potato chopper. A lady with a knife looks anywhere but at the knife she is wielding and the thick slices of potato she is lopping off. Here the inevitable happens. She cuts herself, yells and is exasperated with the whole concept of this two million-year-old technology, takes up the potato peeler. By this logic, the Handy Peel for potato, Fish Dresser for fish ete .. etc ..etc.. It's hard to say which is the saddest exaggeration here.

Is the customer getting better, or are advertisers getting trickier? How easy it is to find blatantly misleading ads and labels, something's up which isn't honesty. The most interesting part is that the sophist gains comfortably well,as orders for the magic brushes and potato peelers flow in far above the aim of the ‘product’ launcher.
Some advertisements give us a very false notion that as long as their products are in the market one can do maximum atrocities to the master gland liver by consuming alcohol. Medicines are for the well being of mankind and hence should be treated as gifts of god. It must be presented for public knowledge with utmost respect and reverence.
Advertisements are a crucial aspect of any type of business because they promote products or let the public know about them. Consequently, when this route is exploited by unscrupulous businesses persons to mislead the public, then it may destroy the very image of advertising. When that occurs, the public may loose faith in advertising in general and this may hinder sales for vast numbers of companies. It should be noted that the public can loose faith in advertising if they discover that large numbers of businesses are engaging in misleading advertisement. Additionally, misleading advertising is of interest to the country as a whole because if allowed to continue, it would deteriorate the country's business environment. Unscrupulous businesses would sell at the same level as honest businesses and this would violate marketing principles. Eventually, the overall marketing climate or the country's economy may even begin to decline.

You can only be young once but can always be immature

"You can only be young once but can always be immature"
There are times when one loses the ability to cry,rather fails to give vent to a shock which is far above the endurance level. These helpless moments are beyond transference, as words fail miserably before the tour de force here. One really couldn't believe what he faced at that instant which is coded indelibly in the brain when the never expected happened. Normally one goes with family in the best terms other than when any member goes or seems to go only on emotions and imaginations. Here an advice or a show of anger at times to create an active striving for the growth and happiness of the dear ones is inevitable.
‘Have when changes in to a have-not’ feels a sort of anxiety. It’s not the sign of an immature person who is focused too much on fantasy and fear of rejection nor the tone condescending or objectifying. Sometimes the world turns upside down in an instant, and one’s life is never the same again. Some events act as a catalyst for changes in lives. Enduring the hell of being abused and stalked are in some ways a great gift. It makes one think about one’s role, position, worth, strength, wisdom, and gives a new lease on life and the opportunity to understand the transition of change that others have undergone. These transitional ‘progress’ of others may open one’s eyes to those new things, strange and bitter, but realities, which would never have striked the mind or sensed ever before.
Now one looks up, down and all around, to see pure darkness. That's when the tide is higher than one can breathe and need something to hold on to,lest will drown.No judgment,no reprimand. Just a sense of openness and truth, where one can let go and allow oneself to fall on the sword that will pierce the heart,die not to be reborn.
Everything can be going along just fine when suddenly the personal sky falls down and get blindsided. No one is immune to life’s art and its tendency to turn upside down. Be Bill Gates or beggar it never matters.
Unfortunately many people have been faced with the excruciating decision of whether or not to continue a strained life.The relationships, when stressed or tensed, are the worst to endure. If one has to cut the ties,the term tough love comes to mind, but the need is more about peace of mind which over powers.
The interesting aspect about families is that people can tolerate more bad than good, yet it can still be considered a satisfying relationship for members.In this instance, families can drive one as nuts, and also be there by his side in tough spots. Family members are those who've seen one at his best and worst.They keep their unconditional state to disagree, which is otherwise called respect without willing to change or control.
Imagination, the supreme delight of the immaturity, should be limited in order to enjoy life.

BRAIN SHARPNER

The habit of reading has declined in the people of all sections. But the gradual decline of the habit of reading in the students is an alarming factor. Students’ prime concern is study. They should not confine themselves in the reading of their course books. They need to have a wider knowledge of the day-today affairs and a general awareness in all fields touching their lives. As the present system of education tests the curricular knowledge of students through certain examinations, excelling in the examinations should, of course, be the prime concern of the students. The marks in the mark-sheets are very much required for students for admission into higher courses of study and also for job purposes. Certain qualifying percentage of marks is mandatory for getting short-listed for jobs and higher studies. So, while acquiring general knowledge, one should not forget the books of the syllabus.
Reading is not merely decoding information or pronouncing words correctly. It is aninteractive dialogue between the author and the reader in which theyshare their experiences and knowledge with each other to understand the text and impart meaning to the text other than what the author may have implied. Good readers are critical readers with an ability to arrive at a deeper understanding of not only the world presented in the book but also of the real world around them. They not only recall what they read but comprehend it too. Their critical reading and understanding of the text helps them create new levels of understanding, solving problems, inferring and making connections to other texts and experiences. Reading does not mean reading for leisure only but also reading for information. One may be encouraged to read on topics as diverse as science and technology, politics and history. This will improve the critical thinking skills and also help in improving concentration.

It is often seen that reading book projects are assigned to children in which they are expected to read a book and write a report on it. Though the spirit behind the assigning of the project is commendable, the project does not often interest the students nor does it fulfill the objective which is to inculcate in students the habit of reading.
One of the most important suggestions for promotion of learning is to develop reading habits among children. As habits are more or less routine ways of acting they are considered as second nature. Happiness depends on developing good habits which in turn motivate behavior. Hence efforts should be made to develop reading habits of children after due planning. Reading books is a great ‘brain tool’, to learn and develop important life skills, in terms of education, self improvement, positive life choices and all round well-being. Reading helps one stretch memory muscles in a similar way as the other muscles are stretched through gyms or games. Good books help students to be rational enough to differentiate between right and wrong. This deep and wide wisdom provides students the ability to reduce mistakes. Books are good source for language skills and intellectual development. Several researches have been conducted showing that book reading is indeed associated with one’s use of language and giving new details about how the variety of book reading impacts linguistic development.

Reading has both mental and physical benefits. Psychiatrists believe that reading keeps mind active. Developing good reading skills produces the quality of assimilating the content. Reading is an active mental process. Books provide information that goes deeper than just classroom discussion. They elaborate on what one takes as small chunks of information from different sources; thus make the focus and concentration better. Reading makes students disciplined and scheduled. A book reader is a problem solver and expert on the topics that translates him/her into higher self esteem. Reading exposes one to a huge world of new words and gives an insight of etymology. Knowledge about new cultures and places are inevitable for students of elementary, high and secondary schools. Books can expand horizons by providing information and are good source of education. Where formal education requires time commitments, books which are cheap and portable have no late-bells or hourly commitments
This good habit should never die down in us. Let us encourage reading books.

BE PROUD OF BEING AN INDIAN

As there is head and tail for a coin, there is both positive and negative impact of western culture on India and Indian youths. Why are the youth so fancied of the western culture? Is it superior to Indian culture? Is it not retrogressive? Is it not poncing?I Strongly believe that there is a substantial influence of western culture on Indian youths. Mere mention of the word 'India' signifies a place of cultural heritage as well as diversity. But the cultural legacy that we are showing to the whole world is becoming a thing of history in metropolitan cities. This always remind me the picture of an equatorial human in a poncho, which turns pongy due to un matching climate. In the past Indian men and women wore traditional dresses some of which I do agree, to a certain level hindered their freedom of movement. But they really have the sense and touch of our rich heritage. ‘Namsthee’ the Indian salutation the epitome of a host has the real power to transfer our hospitality, sincerity , love and brother/sisterhood . Now it has entirely changed. The Indian youth moving in jeans, t-shirts, minis, micros exhibiting the pubes, the pub dwellers sharing cheers over liquor, who quote themselves as social drinkers are turning a pushovers. Here are we to be proud of that western culture which we follow blindly or takes us unaware with the fast moving world.
When we consider the pubs, it is something to be strictly dealt and punished through laws. I mean both men and women who are in drastic stage, by taking drugs, should be punished. And we need to fell sorry for that. . Youth of today is more interested in their privacy rather than enjoying their lives with others. Individualization has broken up the joint family system, paving way for the youth to fall prey to drug addiction. This stage is the most vulnerable and precarious period of life where the youth need guidance, counseling, education and care by parents and elders who could be efficient toners.
How did we get part of European culture over here and the feeling that everyone wants to be just like them. No doubt through electronic media. If we follow or allow the young to follow types of these India is sure to lose her identity. Now itself we’ve become a copy – cat to all other nations and are on the verge of losing our individuality. We are fancied by other’s image which are much inferior to our image. We should never look like imposters to other countries. If ever that has been to our mind, it must be erased because such an image we’ve implanted in our minds is terribly wrong. India is not an imposter to other nations, it never has been, but will if theyouth of today continue to do everything they see on the visual media. Our ancestors fought for us, so that we could have a future in our own way, not with any other way, which we are not used to. This doesn’t mean to stop everything we’ve learnt from western countries, but to have some individuality from other nations and to set an example to the other 3rd world countries and give out the message that there are other nations to set an example on. If everyone is his or her own countryman - why can’t we be our own as well?
The effect of western culture has changed Indian youth a lot which has its own positive & negative side. To live in this completive world we have to make our self compatible to adopt the changing life style if only it suits our culture and is very comfortable both to us and society. Most of us underestimate our country and overestimate certain other countries. Usually we prefer to buy their products from perfume to car because we think those products hold better quality than ours. So, it is left to us to adopt only the needed from the western culture and leave that is not needed.
Some of the activities that represent westernization are :- • Observing valentine day
• Dating
• Romantic chatting
• Open-air romance in parks, on motorbikes, in dark glassed cars, onboard train, on main roads
• Dancing in Discothèque, night clubs, rave parties
• Smacking drugs
• Men / boys dressin torn clothes with peculiar hairdos like cartoons
• Women / girls dress to uncover and makeup or hairdo like buffoons
•Behave in the most vulgar manner even without caring the people around them
•Using ridiculous words between or among them in public places
• List is endless……………………………………………….
Live like a normal human which will give us our identity and there will be many to appreciate us

Learn in the right way

Some children learn things more easily than others. This puts before us two logical questions. One is if they have a superior mind and the other if they are born with an aptitude that others lack. One’s answer could be better students use better learning methods.

Do we have a method to make all students better performers? Sure, by a half part method. What is this half part method. First part from the teacher and the rest part from the parents or near ones.

Here is a story. There once lived a landlord who was very rich and wise. He was very kind, pious and highly practical. He had three sons. When he became old, a fear caught him as like any other father. He feared if his children would fight for his wealth after his death. To avoid such a condition he made a will, according to which only the partition be done. The first condition was to divide his 17 elephants among his sons, so that the eldest son should get half(½) of the elephants, the second one should get one third(⅓) and the youngest one should get one ninth(1/9 )and each should look after the elephants well as he did. The partition of his other wealth could be done only after this. Soon he died. After his death the sons decided to divide their father’s wealth as directed. But they didn’t know how to. They approached many wise men to get the wealth divided. None of them could do it and some even blamed that the rich man made an off sensed bill. Finally they approached their king who too failed to divide as directed. The king asked his courtiers to get this puzzle solved and added that anyone who solved would be rewarded. Weeks and months passed and nobody turned up with a solution. The sons setoff to find someone who could help them.

They wandered length and breadth of the country in vain. They were very unhappy and tired. They rested under a huge banyan tree and discussed over and over for a solution. An old mahout who was sitting there asked why they looked so unhappy and pale. They told him the whole story. After hearing the story he assured them of executing their father’s will. The three brothers were very happy. They along with the mahout who was riding on his elephant reached their home. The news that a mahout reached to solve the ‘puzzle will’ spread over the whole locality. Many people gathered to see the process. The king with his courtiers also arrived there. The mahout saluted the king and asked permission to proceed with the partition process. The king granted him permission. All the seventeen elephants were made to stand in a row. The mahout asked the brothers to let his elephant also stand at one end of the row till the partition ends. Now altogether eighteen elephants. He asked the eldest of the brothers to take his share, which was half the elephants and to keep on the other side of the row. He didn’t come forward as there was the mahout’s elephant also. The mahout asked him to obey his rule and take nine elephants. He obeyed and took half of eighteen which is 9 elephants and kept on the other side of the row. The second brother took ⅓ part of eighteen which is 6 and was also kept on the other side of the row. The youngest brother took 1/9 part of eighteen which is 2 and kept on the other side of the row. The mahout asked the brothers to take their elephants out of the row. They did so. 9+6+2 = 17. Now only mahout’s elephant was there in the row. He took back his elephant which was the eighteenth. The brothers were very happy. The king gave the mahout very valuable presents which he humbly refused telling that he did his duty to his fellow men and that duty needs no pay at all.

Those who achieve in life, learn things first. Then they analyse what they have learned, summarise, and review their summary. This analysis and summarization of the information, result in their understanding what they are learning better than those who simply read and reread their textbooks.. They will also employ some kind of mnemonic to enable them to recall what they have learned. High achievers will look for some connection with the information they are learning, and what they already know. They will think laterally to make a mnemonic connection. They might connect numbers they have to remember to a number they already know, like their telephone number, street number, birth date etc. Very high achievers will utilise a mental filing system.

A high achiever won't learn rules and facts by rote, but will try and make sense of the rules, so there is less rote learning with high achievers. High achievers want to understand the information. They will look for rules, and even make their own rules if no rule is taught.

Many students often recite or read information over and over until it sticks in the mind which is a very inefficient method of study. This method is not only unpleasant and inefficient, but with each repetition, the level of concentration decreases. Instead information has to be learned word perfect which will make the students understand what they are studying and what is the purpose of study. We have to develop materials which enable students to use strategies easily and naturally of their own. Thus these learning strategies let students analyse the informations they are studying, summarise, and enable them to recall the information, even under pressure. These methods only can develop lateral thinking skills, which will enable them to use the information at the required time in the required way.

** The story cited above comes to which group. Judge yourself and let us asses.

DEFINITION OF TEACHING

What is teaching? Is there a definition of teaching so broad as to include all of the types of instructions? Are there common elements involved in all teaching?

Teaching can be defined as the "the interaction of a student and a teacher over a subject." There may be one student or several in a class. They could be young or old, bright or below average, normal or physically challenged, highly motivated or turned off, rich or poor, male or female. The subject can be easy and simple or difficult and complex. The teacher may or may not be physically present (as in class room and televised or computer-assisted instruction). But the model holds up. A teacher, student(students), and a subject. Teaching takes place in some specific context. The institution may be highly selective, or open in policies. The climate for learning may be favorable or unfavorable, supportive or frustrating. The resources, both physical and human, may be lavish or meager. No teacher can teach in a vacuum. The setting makes a difference. There can be no teaching without students. There can’t be teaching when there are students, but no teacher. Summarily students and teachers are the two inevitable and inseparable part of teaching. In the absence of any one of these there is no teaching. There certainly can be learning without a teacher. A great amount of learning goes on without teachers; but the activity is called learning, and not teaching. Teaching without a subject is like swimming without water. (Both are impossible.) There must be a medium, a subject, about which there can be structured and sustained dialogues. Teaching involves a teacher and a student (or students) interacting over a subject in a well organized setting.

The best way to think about teaching is to call it what it should be called, not an art, not a science, but a professional scientific artistic talent to transfer knowledge in divided or wholesome mode, making it palatable, digestible, easily absorbable and retainable to the student. Teaching calls for the trained eye to see what is actually happening, and the trained mind to decide what to do next. Its knowledge can not be reduced to fail-safe rules and universal prescriptions. Scientific knowledge and a keen sense of how to apply it are both required for making well-informed professional decisions about teaching.

Bit for the day

Tell me why we disobey

Where we have to just obey,

Taking things in silly way

Mocking others all the way.

Court has warned us more than once

About the use of plastic hence ,

Demo-crazy took it thence

To show that they still run at pace,

Don’t we smell the city bad

Rotting vegs and nonvegs add

(As we smell our ruler’s words),

Rats and dogs are at the jade

To have it till they get jaded.

Once we said to hold legs tight

Else the autos skip thro space,

Now to say, keep mouths shut

Or the garbage make it passé.

Don’t we keep our homes all neat

To make it smell and look so bright,

Why not let our city rest

And make its beauty not be lost.

Impromptu

It is true that the whole world is by way of a tough phase of economic depression which hasstarted distressing global life.The street purveyor to trillion dollar companies started reducing labour as a measure of retrenchment. Here a question arises which needs an immediate answer. Isn’t there a stench of exploitation? Capitalism always had and so has. The prominent factor of this event is opening a path to a system which is, if not equal, much near to slavery. Millions who are thrown out of job became impecunious and many fold in a state of anxiety and mental depression. The ill fated former will be forced to accept other jobs without a think twice or bargain to feed their family. Here booms the possibility of the nasty play of an employer. The victims of the ‘episode’ have to yield to their masters. A well rehearsed and polished slavery. Are the victims harassed physically and mentally? Yes, A guillotine deal! And result is, groveling from victims. Here physical harassment is, working as much as twice their work time, mental stress, instability of job like ‘the sword of Damocles’. The sufferings are beyond imagination. A real echolalia as that of a pronounced ‘Black Warrant’ in wake and sleep. Can’t we think of a solution where all contribute equally and show the willingness to share the sufferings in due proportion to keep the ‘haves and have-nots ‘term out of the doors. Is this possible?

Let us put our heads together and think of the solution which can bring all back to jobs and a universal harmony. The best repentance for the impromptu.