Our Ancient Past and Distant Future!

                  The other day, while in the Economics class, we had been discussing nuclear reactors when I was reminded of an interesting article that I had read some years ago. Having grown up in the era when reading used to be seen as a normal hobby unlike these days when FB spells your state of mind (myself, being a non-user of FB, can be considered as an abnormal guy, for example), it was quite a fascinating experience to go through books on Bermuda Triangle and such like issues (The Chariots of Gods being an example). People, the world over, have been trying to find meanings of the things that beat scientific logic, for quite sometime now. While many discoveries have been made in the process, courtesy man's unlimited desire to probe and yet many issues remain unexplained. As the tradition goes, having given '0' to the world and having ridden high on the waves of knowledge (both material and spiritual), Indians have, for the reason not even known to us, taken a backseat for a while. So, left to themselves, many westerns have been trying to decipher such mysteries in their own ways. 

                     As we sat down discussing nuclear issues the other day, remembrance of that article suddenly came back to me as if as a reflex. The article had mentioned about possibility of our revered 'Shivling' as being a precursor to the design of present day nuclear reactor. Yes, there are certain striking resemblances between a nuclear reactor design and that of a Shivling. Both have that typical dome-like top, for example. But I have a slightly different take on the whole issue.

                    I am of the firm belief that our ancestors were pretty scientific and developed before some unseen event (or an over-enthusiastic researcher of that time, over-stepped his/her brief and brought a sudden end to the world, as it must have existed during that epoch). After all, no one can perform a surgery that results in successful attachment of an elephant head with a human body; a goat's head with another human being, for that matter. There are numerous examples in our mythology that can make present day surgeons/chemists/ scientists and so many other such specialists sweat for their money.

                    But I am also a firm believer of the fact that history  repeats itself, length of intervening periods notwithstanding. So, for me, looking forward or looking back into history are two sides of the same coin. Here, I would prefer to look ahead rather than look back in an attempt to decipher this nuclear reactor-Shivling relationships. At the face of it, both look so similar....

(from www.astrologyvastugems.com)                               www.guardian.co.uk

                                      And then is the common need to keep both these entities cool through running water. While heavy water is pumped to keep the reactor cool, a constantly dripping water over the Shivling is an absolute necessity too. Also, water from both the entities is not used elsewhere. In our religion, sacred offerings of all kinds are consumed as prasad, be it rat-tasted sweets at Karni Mata (near Bikaner) or marijuana like content of Shardai (used during Holi as also one of the prasads from Shiva). So, isn't it surprising that milk/water flowing down from the dome of a Shivling is simply discarded and not take/consumed as a prasad!

                      Snakes on/around a ling may signify security ring that is generally thrown around any nuclear plant. Also, let us not ignore the fact that both the entities possess extraordinary destructive powers even though they do possess some of the hugely beneficial and constructive powers too.

                         Anyways, looking ahead, I would like to believe that one day, some centuries from now (of course, if mankind survives that long), every settlement, if not every household, will have a miniature nuclear plant amidst itself. The energy-efficient future settlements as also homes, will probably take such things as granted too! Talking about the cycle of the history, I would also like to believe that there was, timeline unknown, surely an era when our ancestors did have such households and settlements where miniature nuclear plants used to be operational. No wonder then that most of our devtas had personal airplanes, capable of flying to distant lands/planets and solar systems without any aviation fuel/rocket propellants and such like fuels. We already have nuclear submarines in this world, one day we will have nuclear fired aircraft too. And yes, someone, down the line, will actually possess a personal nuclear plant that would be so safe that just a simple trickle of water will meet its cooling needs. Man, by that time, would have certainly forgotten about Shivling and 'ancient beliefs' but unknown to that learned man, a Power, as ever, will be lurking around. Amused by the arrogance of such a self-made man, that Power would witness the unfortunate event of self-destruction by such a man before the beginning of another cycle where Shivlings will be worshipped again. As said a little while ago, the history does repeat itself!

Rear View Mirrors and The Front Wind Screen!

                        Most of us drive our vehicles. Unless and until you are the one who relies solely on your luck or on the deity whose name you might have written on the rear windshield (rear glass as it is known too), you would be using rear view mirrors (outside and/or inside) a lot. Of course, for the mahouts who charge the roads with bulkier vehicles, there would generally be one or two additional rear view mirrors. Bikers of my vintage also liked both the rear view mirrors on the handlebar (I prefer to have four, including two on the leg guards) even though present day riders tend to have none. Whatever may be the numbers, the fact remains that rear view mirrors, even though very useful/helpful, can not match the utility of a windscreen (car) or that of a visor on the helmet (bike) IF aim of the man on the wheel/in the saddle is to move forward. Here, I would cite a quote :-

"The car you drive has a large windshield, but only a relatively small rearview mirror. The implication is obvious: What happened in your past is not nearly as important as what is in your future. Where you are going is much more important than where you've been. " 

                                                                   ~ Joel Osteen, Become a Better You

               I would take some literal liberty and modify this famous quote by JO. I would say that while past can not be neglected in absolute terms (nor it must be in the first place), too much of looking back does not help either. You will either bang into someone (ie if you look more into a rear-view mirror than across the windshield in front) or reach somewhere you were not planning to go in the first place. So, lessons must be learnt, some important data must be stored (especially when most of us are actually not able to utilise a huge proportion of the grey material that comes packed from top) and then one must look to the fore. 

              So, as I look back for the one last time at the recent events, I see some great lessons for many of us (I would leave the learning part to individuals lest Astha channel starts offering me a prime slot for preaching!). But even though there were some tense moments, there were also some great opportunities to assess true worth of many people. I take this opportunity to thank each one of you (you know it, guys!) who simply decided to stand by what they perceived was right! I am also thankful to one particular joker who exposed himself in the process. My counter-espionage trap was so simple but it did work! That stinking soul would do well to stay away (He knows it too!). So, some useful education on PR did flow through too. But I do not intend to linger on for long nor do I intend looking back too frequently. With my eyes set on the road and with my compass set on a course, as I press the pedal, I would do well to look ahead and reach where I wanna reach. 

                 Baisakhi is a new year of Sikhs (By the way, who am I? A northern Hindu Brahmin (by birth) or a die hard southie (my 22 odd years with troops hailing from that part of the country) or a Sikh (some of the most memorable moments, including a huge turning point, have been spent with troops who wear turbans rather than steel helmets!) I think I am a bit of all these and I would like to be that way. Coming back to the Baisakhi, it marked closing of a chapter while initiating a new one. So, it is the time to hit the road, look ahead and bash on. It is, also, the time to say Happy Baisakhi and move on.

                     Let Good Times Roll, guys!!

Deh Shiva bar mohe-i-hai.....

Deh Siva bar mohe-i-hai, shubh karman the kabhu na taroo 

Na daroo ar siyoo jab jah laroon, Nischai kar apni jeet koroo 

Ar Sikh hao apne hi man ko, Eh lalch hou goon tau uchroo 

Jab aav ki audh nidhann banay, Aut he rann me tab joojh maroo......!!

                  These lines, from Sri Dasam Granth, as composed by Sri Govind Singh Ji, never fail to inspire. I have a special fascination for these lines as a  print of these lines adores a very special place in our nest and it is on daily basis that I see, read and get inspired by these lines. These four lines have so much to say, only if we are willing to hear; otherwise, these are like many other hymns that people (with mind focussed elsewhere) tend to mutter as a part of daily routine. It does not need any special talent to understand what path is being shown for lesser mortals; location, context, ground situation remaining irrespective. Take any situation and apply it to see what option do you get and you will be surprised.

                     Why suddenly these lines? As you may begin to wonder lemme tell you that these lines, though being written for the first time in this blog, have been with me for long and 'we' interact with each other on daily basis. But yes, there is a reason for writing these lines here but before I elaborate on that, lets ask ourselves a simple question! What is an evil in the real sense? Is it a hand that commits a sin? Or is it a person who, say, does a sinful act? Or is it a person who is actually caught in an act and had he/she not been caught, he/she would have come out clean? Well, the answer is common to all questions here and that is in affirmative. So, that means that there is some central point inside every living being and it is there at that point that the evil resides. So, what do we call this point? Is it mind or is it heart? In India, we do colloquially use terms like 'black hearted' or 'evil hearted' and so on but the science believes that evil lives inside a penthouse, called brain. Now, as far as I am concerned, whether the evil (gender neutral) lives in brain or inside the heart or keeps shuttling between the two, it is important to identify this entity. Once identified, killing the evil is just a matter of detail. So, who is this entity? From little that I know from my experience, it is called, " Intent"! Unfortunately, INTENT has two faces - evilish and good! Readers of this blog being mature, do not really need any further explanations.

                  Going back to those lines now, evil can not win over good and when you go after an evil, you do not have to worry or wink because Good Intent (GI) of yours will always have an edge over Evil Intent (EI) of any joker, his/her stature being irrelevant. So, here I am.... got challenged by an EI a few days back. Yes, challenged! Though it may sound strange but it is nothing unusual, given the fact that when an EI has a fool as friend, the logic gets tossed off first because the entity called Logic (L) likes to live alone and does not leave its original path. But in situations when EI begins to overlook the L, L simply goes away. Thereafter, once EI comes to senses after getting bashed up (reminded of something very recent....ha, ha), it is generally too late. L would be seen but would be of no use and as the EI's ship begins to sink, rats are the first ones to jump off....... and the world watches! The EI that I have decided to take on, has gone a step ahead than usual! My personal property, I believe, is being manipulated to train guns on many innocent souls! But dear EI, I stand between you and the victims and I have GI on my side. We do not really have to wait for the results........ as these lines have always proved, GI will prevail over the EI.

                  I got something "from the desk of'' someone on 10th! I sent something back ''from my heart'' today! While 'from the desk' sounds very impressive (as if coming from 7, RC or White House), the fact remains that 'from the heart', even though humble and decent, can destroy wooden desks. 

                     

Have fun guys; at least I will live only once!

The Complaint Box

              This contraption has lots and lots of value....

              ..... so at least I was very happy when EBS installed this box in the cafe today. While youngsters were amused (e-mail users will not understand unless explained), I did, for a little while, wonder about the efficacy of the new system when the box is placed in an area covered by CCTV coverage. Its utility thus, while remaining a big question, needs to be increased by placing it in a blind spot. 

              Anyways, I was just going through a mail today when I came across this joke...

There is a group of Christians trying to paint the entire church white. At one point, they start running out of paint. So, they dilute half can of paint with thinner and finally paint the entire church. Suddenly, thunder roared, and God said, “Repaint and thin no more.”

( God said, “Repent and sin no more.”)

......... Life goes on (even though s*** may happen sometimes)...... have fun; keep smiling!

An intelligent enemy rather than a foolish friend.

                My roots go right till the other side of Hindukush Mountain Range in Afghanistan. Something today, incidentally, reminded of an old proverb that originated from that great land of Afghanistan, a country known for unparalleled tales of friendships and unmatched venom for enemies. The proverb goes like this..... "An intelligent enemy rather than a foolish friend" and another variation of the same that explains it better (linguistic barriers matter, you see!).... "A wise enemy is better than a foolish friend". More about it a bit later!

                     We celebrated my birthday by rafting down the Ganges (all 30 odd Kms of it) and that too despite the fact that frequency of accidental deaths during rafting there has suddenly gone up this year. I would share an experience that would justify such an act. You see, whenever the raft gets into a rapid, it starts bouncing around and for some brief moments, raft literally remains in air. During those times, when you try to use your oar, many a time, the oar completes the swing without touching the waves or water. Such moments illustrate the power of wild nature and likelihood of man getting defeated in the process. And defeat generally translates into something fatal too. But every time that kind of a challenge was faced, I could feel the excitement building inside (techos would call it Adrenaline Rush) and as we fought and fought and managed our way out of whirlpools, a sense of satisfaction would begin to set in. Such feelings can not be explained in words........ and the fatal attraction continues even today!

                      So, a person like me, with a kink that makes me face and enjoy challenges, a few things come naturally. Some wise man said once that a warrior must know his adversary..... someone, despite all projected brilliance in management, just erred on this aspect today. And as I try and re-construct what would have happened in such a disastrous decision making, the first para of this post (on top) gets applied...... as Doyle sir says, case studies must be related to theories and I have done that simply. Fun has just about begun!

Shooting da messenger

              

        Ever heard of the phrase," Shooting the Messenger?" Well, in earlier days, well before Shakespearean era, this metaphor meant something like  lashing out at the blameless bearer of a bad news. As the time progressed and warfare got modernised, commanding officers followed this code by not harming enemy envoys and messengers. In today's world and more so in the management world, a derivative of the saying took birth in wherein persons tend to blame media, this blog for example, for presenting contradictory news/views about a subject, issue, person or establishment. So, while  shooting a messenger may be product of an insecured mind who can not digest the fact gracefully and prefers to target the messenger, such a stance leads to information black-outs. (credits for picture venitism.blogspot.com)

                   Shooting the messenger may also be a kind of a tactical move (rather 'strategic' move as self styled strategic managers like to call it) but a certain fallout of such an attitude is a trend wherein ethos of non-disclosure may actually set in. The affected populace is generally intelligent enough to understand such a trend and start to hold negative feedbacks. So, the KING continues to live happily with a great degree of self-delusion.......!! 

                       Coming more closer to my skin...... There was some ugly scene created in the cafe yesterday while I was away. I believe some oblique references had been made towards my blog (that appears to be the trend here). I wish I could be spoken to rather than sending a messenger with a freaking hope that I would shoot him. Lemme clarify a few issues once for all:-

     1.     I, and only I (Ajay K Raina) am responsible for each and every word that is ever written here. So, if my writings ever cause some justifiable pain in someone's mind or sole, I am the person who should be spoken to directly. I do not fall into the silly traps of messengers and shooting them.

    2.     Barring a few incorrigibles, every one is a friend in my batch. Close door meetings at personal levels with an obvious aim of driving a wedge between students, are as useless as such childish efforts are laughable. But yes, lemme confess, such issues give us reasons to laugh out loudly, LOL as they call it!

     3.       Sudden increase in words like "Suspension",  "Legal Team" and such like threats are pretty amusing and equally laughable. Students are already (and always) under stress; if we do not laugh at such words, at least a few of us will get into depression. People need to understand that. Threats have never worked.

     4.      No wonder then that the system is working through close door apologies to parents of some student, arm twisting of another  to seek certain details and attempts to create friction amongst students and so on. If only energies were utilised in a positive manner, EBS would be better place to study and impart education. I only hope that strategists do appreciate the fact that same templates can not be applied with everyone and good sense would prevail in the end.

                   

The Inept Faculty

          Hi, came across this news article in print media today in the morning (here is the link.... http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/88-of-IIT-B-students-say-professors-inept/articleshow/19435098.cms ). A sad story in itself, to say the least. Whatever may be the reasons, as cited in the survey, it reflects poorly on our education system. If such a thing can happen in the premier institute of the country, we can only imagine what would be the state in many other institutes that are being run as money making enterprises. At least at IIT, faculty had to devote time both to the teaching part and the research work; what about the scenario wherein faculty is employed in a multi-tasking mode. Needless to say that at the end of the day, students suffer, their parents suffer and this nation as a whole suffers because of such practices. 

          When people take pride in blowing their own trumpet and say that ' My institute has got X number of Ph.D. faculty members', they tend to compare such facts with some institutes that may (for all we know, may not be) be lacking such a profile. But you ask a student and he/she will tell you that when it comes to the teaching (and more importantly transferring knowledge), stamps (read qualifications) do not matter at all. A Ph.D qualified person, invariably, will be good at research as also in knowledge but there is no freaking guarantee that he/she will make a good faculty whose primary job (IF) is to impart quality education to the students who, in any case, are the biggest stakeholders in any given educational institute.

             While at it, I am reminded of someone making tall claims about growth of an institute...... ''We are really growing'' or words to that effect. Funny it may sound but the fact remains that if size (or quantity or sheer numbers) were the parameter, a junkyard will always win over a jeweller's shop. What are we looking at? In an over-populated country like that of ours, it is no big deal to gather 110 heads and then claim growth even though 20 of them just leave of their own volition. 

                     Winds of change are sweeping across the country, though not very obvious to those who choose to remain blind by choice. Sooner the system changes itself, better it would be or else day is not far when all such hi-fi institutes and 'stamps' will be trashed.

                Our beloved EBS blackboard was OFF yet again. Starting Friday, we kept on banging our heads against an unseen wall but to no avail. No big surprise given the fact that a small correction in the attendance record of a student (read me) who had been erroneously marked  absent by a faculty way back on 20 March 2013, has not been made despite a written request to the faculty who had promptly passed on the information, duly recommended to the person concerned. 

                      Someone has started a facebook group titled 'EBS Confessions' recently. Reminds of similar groups of many other institutes ranging from Harvard to IITs to IIMs and many others. Great work! I am not on facebook but I have seen and heard about the same from others and it looks and feels like a great valve through which pressure gets released.

                      Weather is warming up and exams are due at the end of this month. It is literally heating up slowly and steadily. Time to preserve ourselves for the  work ahead!

                        Take care!!