The Mysterious Net

Qk.ly: http://bit.ly/bsxMysNet

A nice weird thing happened the other day.

Sometime back, i had run into an ad in the SToI Speaking Tree containing an appeal from Vivekananda Vidyapeeth, Bhopal.  I had some trouble finding the correct details for proper online transfer, so once i got them, i added the following comment to the photo below:

If you want to do an online transfer, here are the details:

A/c Type: Savings
A/c Number: 301 64 666 050
A/c Name: RAMAKRISHNA MISSION ASHRAMA, BHOPAL
Bank: State Bank of India (SBI)
Branch: Berkhera Branch, Bhopal
MICR Code : 462002005
IFSC Code : SBIN0002375

Earlier this week, i got a receipt for INR 5,000 from RKM, Bhopal.  I was wondering, "Hey, i haven't done this", when i realized that someone had done it on my behalf, from the details above.

Whoever it is, thank you!

An Appeal from Vivekananda Vidyapeeth, Bhopal

Scrambled Memories

Qk.ly: http://bit.ly/bsxScraM

Last Tuesday, during a slight break in the baddy games, Kaushal got a call during which he had to take down a number.  Naren wanted that to be delegated to my memory, but Kaushal was happier with Ravi's BlackBerry.

Anyway, the number was recorded, but not forgotten.

This morning, i was telling Naren at the courts that the real test was whether one could remember the number after two days.  It was: [the "dd" makes it hi"dd"en, or does it? ;-)]

+91.9dd9.61-28-40

with 6-sigma (99.5%) accuracy.  If that number's wrong, then with 6-stigma accuracy ;-)

Ever since i started remembering numbers using the 2-digit cluster (as the French do), the process has become simpler.  Also, i jockey around a bit with the numbers.  Like so:

• 61: the # on our Kinetic Honda key
• 28: My old name number
• 40: One less than my current name number.

Also, with permission to speak freely, a lady with this figure will give Pamela Anderson a run for her money any day and win, well, hands down!

Related: Numb and Number, when i did some jiggling to remember a 36-digit sequence in OCT.2006.

~~~*-*~@~

The entire episode reminded me of that great memory guy (GMG), who's generally hanging around some Texas train station.  One chap on his way to make his fortune in the Wild West hears about him and accosts him with: "Well, what did you have for breakfast on" such and such a day.  GMG says: "Eggs".  The fortune-hunter scoffs and carries on.  After some ten years and a fortune, the chap is again going through the same TX station, sees GMG still hanging around, and challenges him with just: "How?"  Our man GMG doesn't miss a beat and responds: "Scrambled"!

Sri Ramakrishna Says

Qk.ly: http://bit.ly/bsxSRS

Finally, got around to doing what i have been thinking for a while.

A spanking new site called Sri Ramakrishna Says for all the wonderful quotes from the Master in The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna:

Sri Ramakrishna Says

You can subscribe to new pages on the site:

• By e-mail to the Sri Ramakrishna Says Google Group
• By SMS to the Sri Ramakrishna Says Google SMS Channel (only in India).  Please note that your mobile number will not be visible to anyone, even the owner/admin of this Google SMS Channel.

Two Dreams

Qk.ly: http://bit.ly/bsxTwoDreams

అమ్మ and దద్దమ్మ

The thoughts last Thursday (Being a Witness) filled me with a lot of bliss, almost like finding the Holy Grail.

That night, i tried to sleep in the manner the Master recommends for getting dreams of the Old Mother: flat on the back, arms across the chest.

Later in the night (ఒక రాత్రి వేళ, as they used to say so interestingly in Chandamama stories), i indeed had one.  Saw a dark Ganesha idol on the ground; as usual, it was on the left of the main deity, which was a Mariamman.

A mysterious thing happened when i stood before Her: i felt an electric shock in two places:

• My hand (in the fingers)
• The junction of the right hip and the crotch.

Pretty weird.

~~~*-*~@~

Early this morning (around 2:30 AM), i was going around with some friends in some place where the temples had humongous deities on the outside; the gopuram itself was the deity!

We went into some temple and were served lunch.  One of my pals, A…, had some issue and referred to the temple lunch manager as a దద్దమ్మ (idiot/moron).  There was no reaction from them for a while but, towards the end of the meal, the use of the word was brought up.

When we tried to exit the temple hall, we noticed that it was bolted from the outside.  A whole lot of folks descended on A… and started taking him to task, sparing us mercifully.  I tried to intercede on his behalf (after all, A… was our topper at Kotak in the late 1970s), but the following sight jarred me to the bone:

The main lynch person had prised open A…'s mouth and was vomiting into it.

The sheer consternation of that sight woke me up and reminded me of the daily quote from Edgar Cayce that i had just got earlier in the day (for Hindus, the day starts with sunrise):

Edgar Cayce Reading 1311-1

Do not rail at anyone. Do not hold grudges. Do not hold ANY of those tendencies that have so long made for disturbing conditions in the experience,

and, more importantly:

Edgar Cayce Reading 470-37

…don't get mad and don't cuss a body out mentally or in voice. This brings more poisons than may be created by even taking foods that aren't good.

Guess this is one lesson that will stick.

Being a Witness

Qk.ly: http://bit.ly/bsxBeAWitness

God is a witness to phenomena.
—Sri Ramakrishna

There was a thread on our PM Adda about Vipassana.  I added my two bits from an article (On Mind and Mindness) in this week's issue of OPEN, but the person took umbrage to a particular word used in the article.  So i responded:

If the accumulated saMskAra/impressions of a lifetime can be eradicated by a two-week course, it's indeed a miracle.

At the start of 2007, there was a startling article by Dennis Overbye in the NYTimes:

Free Will: Now You Have It, Now You Don’t
…
A bevy of experiments in recent years suggest that the conscious mind is like a monkey riding a tiger of subconscious decisions and actions in progress, frantically making up stories about being in control.

Crouching Tiger, Chidden Monkey

More recent studies have shown that there's a distinct time lag (up to 10 seconds) between the thought registering in the abYss of the subconscious and bubbling up to the waters of the mind:

Your subconscious calls the shots

Coffee or tea? Which pants to wear to work? Which watch to buy? Which movie to watch? Your mind might be made up before you know it. Researchers have found patterns of brain activity that predict people’s decisions up to 10 seconds before they’re aware they’ve made a choice.

Since the murky, seductive subconscious (thanks, SatishKing) seems to be outside our control, the next best thing appears to be a sAkShi/witness to phenomena, as Ramana Maharshi says:

The Maharshi (JAN-FEB.2006) PDF
…
"The only freedom one has is to strive for and acquire the Jnana which will enable him not to identify himself with the body. The body will go through the actions rendered inevitable by prarabdha (destiny) based on the balance sheet of past lives, and a man is free either to identify himself with the body and be attached to the fruits of its actions or to be detached from it and be a mere witness of its activities."

If one can dive in using His atma vichara/"Who am I?", it's even better.  One might find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.  As Sri Brahmachaitanya observed:

Shri Maharaj used to say that in the heart of every human being is hidden a spot of mystic beauty, the luster of which never withers, the flavor of which is never spoiled. … The joy arising out of its vision gives divine light. The person then reaches the timeless stage.

Kerala on the Lam

Qk.ly: http://bit.ly/bsxKeralam

This piece of news caught my attention today:

Kerala to become Keralam

The name number of Kerala is 14, which is the same as that of GOD.  So when they say, it's God's own country, they are right in yet another way :-)

Keralam adds up to 18.  IMHO, this is a seriously dicey number.

One of the interesting things one has noticed about cities/countries changing names is what happens when they change their names such that they add up to 18. They all go to the dogs. Witness:

• Bombay (17) to Mumbai (18)
• Ceylon (24) to Sri Lanka (18)
• Burma (15) to Myanmar (18). In fact, the Myanmar dictator was so weird that he got a 45-unit currency printed!

Changing to that is akin to what we used to say in Sea Sands:

అడిగి కొట్టించుకోవడం
Ask to get screwed

Cheiro writes some pretty serious spooky stuff for the number 18: (from John Lennon’s Bible and the Occult Significance of 27)

The symbol for number 18 is “a rayed moon from which drops of blood are falling; a wolf and hungry dog are seen below catching the falling drops of blood in their open mouths, while still lower, a crab is hastening to join them. It is symbolic of materialism striving to destroy the spiritual side of the nature. It generally associates a person with bitter quarrels, even family ones, war, social upheavals, revolutions; and in some cases it indicates making money and position through wars. It is a warning of treachery, deception by others, also danger from explosions. When this ‘compound’ number appears in working out dates in advance, such a date should be taken with a great amount of care, caution and circumspection.”

Major Arcana—The Moon

I would steer clear of such a number any day, even if you pay me.  My sincere hope, on numerological grounds, is that this name change doesn't happen.

Related posts:

• Axon ≠ Infosys
• Back with a Bengaluru.

A Brother Like That and Then Some

After some nice games at the baddy courts, Ram and i—the Rams of RamaGondanaHalli, as Naren says—were walking back home.  Ram's busy with the finishing touches of his new place and he was narrating some stories of the workers:

One guy wanted to study instead of working.  So when Ram offered to look after his studies, the chap comes back the next day and says: "I will not study, but my younger brother will"!   That reminded me of A Brother Like That:

Paul received an automobile from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin was walking around the shiny new car, admiring it.

"Is this your car, Mister?" he asked.

Paul nodded. "My brother gave it to me for Christmas." The boy was astounded. "You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn't cost you nothing? Boy, I wish..." He hesitated. Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for. He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the lad said jarred Paul all the way down to his heels.

"I wish," the boy went on, "that I could be a brother like that."

Another guy is just 14 years old and has to work as he's the mainstay of the family, with two younger siblings.  Yet another guy works while his Dad spends his time drinking; it's less costly that way.  About 32 folks stay in a 3-bedroom house, trying to support their families far away in North India.…

They reminded me of a quote, which was the guiding principle of Prof. R Vaidyanathan of 14 # Sea Sands:

I felt sad I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.

It's a trick of the mind that it gets adjusted to its new settings. For instance, if one moves to a nice place, after a while, all the privileges of that place will be taken for granted. It's as if all those wonderful features are "reset to zero".

Is there any way i can live in Palm Meadows keeping Sea Sands (and Bob Hope) at the back of the mind:

I grew up with six brothers. That's how I learned to dance - waiting for the bathroom.

Sometime back, Shyam referred to a startling quote from Benjamin (Franklin/Disraeli) who, on seeing a drunken person, remarked:

But for Your grace, there go I.

That statement of Dr. Thimappa Hegde is still ringing in my ears:

You can never be grateful and miserable at the same time, can you?

జగన్నాథ రథ చక్రాలు

Qk.ly: http://bit.ly/bsxJRC

With the Rath Yatra starting tomorrow (news), i was reminded of this wonderful mural in the house of the Pillutla:

and this sequence from Akali rAjyaM:

Kamal Haasan: (quoting Sri Sri)
జగన్నాథ రథ చక్రాలోస్తున్నాయ్, వస్తున్నాయ్
రథ చక్ర ప్రళయ ఘొశ
భూమార్గం పటిస్తాన్
భూకంపం పుటిస్తాన్.

Kamal Haasan: (asks his friend who's gotten up)
ఎక్కడకిరా?

Friend: భూకంపం పుట్టిన్చడానికి!

The Telugu can be roughly translated as:

The wheels of the chariot of Jagannath are coming; they are coming
The apocalyptic chant of the chariot wheel
Will set it on the earth
Will create an earthquake

Where to?

To create an earthquake!

Celestial Chariots

Qk.ly: http://bit.ly/bsxCelesChari

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
—Hamlet, scene v

Old-timers will recall the hullabaloo over the reentry of SkyLab into the Earth's atmosphere in July, 1979.  I think it was scheduled for reentry on July 9 (today), though it actually happened a couple of days later.

My grandma was in her place near Guntur and joked with her friends that it would fall on them.  She died the next day.  I can still see my Mom crying in a chair at the end of the hall, when we got back from play that evening.

My grandma was some lady.  She used to test for her blood-sugar levels with a very involved process.  Heat a test-tube along with some solution, put the drops of blood in it, and do some sort of litmus test.  Can't imagine doing any of that now; the mind balks at a 5-second test!  Anyway, she was one tough cookie.

Some years later, my Mom told me a very unusual thing.  When my grandpa died sometime in the early 1960s, my grandma saw a celestial chariot waiting outside the house.

My grandpa did a yajna in those days.  There are quite a few who say that the general well-being of his descendants is due to his austerities.  What can one say, except that i was named after him.

I wouldn't have believed that celestial chariot bit if i hadn't read about it in other contexts.

In the mid-1930s, the impending Second World War was announced to Edgar Cayce by a divine being in a celestial chariot.

This year, i read a detailed account of one arriving to take away the soul of Balaram Basu, a very humble devotee of Sri Ramakrishna.  Swami Shivananda narrates: (How to Live with God, pages 78-79)

At the last moment, we were seated around him, while his wife, stricken with unspeakable grief, was in the inner apartment with Golap-ma, Yogin-ma, and others.  Just then she noticed something like a piece of black cloud in the sky, which became denser by stages and began to descend.  Soon it assumed the shape of a chariot and alighted on the roof of Balaram Basu's house.  The Master came out of that chariot and proceeded towards the room where Balaram Babu lay.  Soon after, he issued forth, taking Balaram Babu by the hand, and entered the chariot again, which then ascended and vanished in the sky.  This vision raised her mind to a very high plane where there could be no touch of grief or sorrow.  When she returned to normal she related this to Golap-ma, who came to apprise us of the fact.  Balaram Babu had passed away just a little while before.

On G+

Falling into the Abyss

There's quite an unusual para in Face to Face with Sri Ramana Maharshi in the reminiscences of K. Swaminathan [No. 43]: (page 117, bottom)

When I told Sir Sivaswami about my decision to visit the (Ramana) Ashram, he said, you are a young man with many responsibilities; when you go to Bhagavan you will be swept off your feet and fall into an abyss.  Don't go alone, tie yourself in many bonds; take somebody you like, you are attached to, to hold you.  So I took my wife and two of my students with me.

Ha!

I think this was at the back of my mind when this quote popped into my head recently:

Keep pushing the envelope…till it falls into the Abyss.

This morning, i was idly thinking of the name number of ABYSS when i noticed that it added up to 10.  This is one of the good (great?) numbers in numerology; one famous 10 is TCS.

The placement of the one and the zero reminded me of an observation by the Master in the Gospel: (page 178, top)

The Master and Vijay Goswami
…
"But the universe and its created beings, and the twenty-four cosmic principles, all exist because God exists. Nothing remains if God is eliminated. The number increases if you put many zeros after the figure one; but the zeros don't have any value if the one is not there."

Related posts:
The Abyss is a Bliss

Qk.ly for this blog post: http://bit.ly/bsxAbyssFall

Gadgets: Samsung Galaxy S

Qk.ly: http://bit.ly/bsxSGS

Have been thinking of moving to the Android platform for a while, as i am a confirmed Google-o-philiac.  The name number of Google (as well as that of Infosys and Edgar Cayce) is 28.  There's a philosophy of sharing with others, which appeals deeply to me.  In fact, i run a few sites (such as Sri Brahmachaitanya Maharaj and Sri Ramakrishna Says) on Google Apps paying just USD 10 for the entire year.

So when i went over to Sangeetha Mobiles in Marathahalli Saturday afternoon, it didn't take me long to home on to a Samsung Galaxy S, with Android 2.1.

The sales person took a shot of us w/o much warning!

When i got back home, a couple of things about the sale bothered me:

• The sales person removed the screen protective sticker and never gave it to me.  Later, one of the guys at the baddy courts said that it was of no use whatsoever.
• The detailed User Manual was missing in the packaging.  As of now, i am making do with the online User Guide.

It's a pity that it's still Caveat Emptor when one is paying good money.  It made me sick in the stomach.

The customer is not a moron. The customer is your wife.
—David Ogilvy

~~~*-*~@~

Was checking it out Sunday.

To sync with the PC, Samsung Kies is used. Strangely enough, it is not available for download from its page.

So i had to hunt around for it on the Net and got it here (141 MB).

But, after installing and upgrading it to the latest version, it still refused to ID my piece.

So one more trip to the Net to unearth this gem from Tiptronic:

I confirm this method works, just go settings-> SD card and phone storage-> under Internal SD Card, unmount SD card and then re mount it. plug in my phone and it starts installing the driver and Kies opens automatically.

That worked like a charm and i was able to sync all 10 albums of the Bhajan Cornucopia.

However, the UI of Samsung Kies leaves much to be desired, esp. after getting accustomed to iTunes. But, as they say out here, solpa adjust maadi!

~~~*-*~@~

One of the interesting changes seen when you get a new gadget is that you start fretting over it that much more :-)

Last (Monday) morning, i was reminded of one of my favorite statements from the Bible: Psalm 127-1

Except the Lord keepeth the city, the watchman waketh but in vain,

which helped me reduce the attachment.

Some related sayings by the Master from The Gospel:

• "If even a sickly man puts on high boots, he begins to whistle and climbs the stairs like an Englishman, jumping from one step to another. If a man but holds a pen in his hand, he scribbles on any paper he can get hold of—such is the power of the pen!"
• "Once I ate some onion. While eating it I discriminated, 'O mind, this is onion.' Then I moved it to different places in my mouth and at last spat it out."

The final question is, indeed, "Who's the slave?"

~~~*-*~@~

Last evening, was exploring the Android Market and loved the (free) apps out there.  It was a cinch to download the featured apps:

• NYTimes
• Kindle for Android; simpler to buy the stuff on the PC (rather than from the mobile) and send it wirelessly to the mobile.

One is no longer tethered to the network ;-)

మన మోహన శ్యామ మురారి

Radha Krishna

It's startling how a snippet from a song can send you into a wonderful spiritual mood.  That's what happened a couple of days back, on Wednesday morning.

It was the very last bhajan (#163) in the Bhajan Cornucopia, which we got very luckily 3 years, 3 months, and 3 days ago (as of Wednesday).

It goes: [thanks to Baraha ;-)]

mana mOhana SyAma murAri
hE giridhAri hrudaya vihAri
briMdAvana saMchAri

ಮನ ಮೋಹನ ಶ್ಯಾಮ ಮುರಾರಿ
ಹೇ ಗಿರಿಧಾರಿ ಹ್ರುದಯ ವಿಹಾರಿ
ಬ್ರಿಂದಾವನ ಸಂಚಾರಿ

మన మోహన శ్యామ మురారి
హే గిరిధారి హ్రుదయ విహారి
బ్రిందావన సంచారి

মন মোহন শ্যাম মুরারি
হে গিরিধারি হ্রুদয ৱিহারি
ব্রিংদাৱন সংচারি

मन मॊहन श्याम मुरारि
हॆ गिरिधारि ह्रुदय विहारि
ब्रिंदावन संचारि

The mood kicked in before i started the puja and stayed with me for its entire duration. What could be more wonderful than tears of joy coursing down from the (outer) corners of the eyes continually throughout the puja?!

Sri Ramakrishna refers to this state, when the dispersed mind suddenly comes together:

M. at Dakshineswar
…
"There is another kind of samādhi, called unmana samādhi. One attains it by suddenly gathering the dispersed mind. You understand what that is, don't you?"

Two days on, as i gently hum this soothing bhajan, the mind goes back into a state, which the Master referred to in a way only He can, of "roseate intoxication".

Qk.ly for this blog post: http://bit.ly/bsxManaMohana

Riches within Niches

Nature is a majestic expression of divinity.
—Sri Ramakrishna

The NatGeoMag folks covered the Western Ghats, the Sahyadris, as the very first hotspot in their JAN.2002 issue.

As a lover of the Old Mother and the many wonderful things She keeps creating as Mother Nature, I have been intrigued ever since.

The middle of this decade, i got around to hearing about the work of Sandesh Kadur and his book on the Sahyadris.  The APR.2006 issue of Sanctuary Magazine showcased a gorgeous praying mantis from the book:

But somehow i couldn't get around to buying it, even though i tried on and off.

Earlier this week, there was an interview with Sandesh, tucked away in the ToI Education Times:

Shoot at Sight!
…
Sandesh Kadur’s photograph, capturing a flock of endangered Greater Adjutant Storks, won him the International Conservation Photography (ICP) award in Seattle last week. “I captured it at a landfill near Guwahati,’’ says the Bangalorebased wildlife photographer and film-maker. Sandesh feels honoured to have the picture displayed at the Burke Museum in Seattle. “Showcasing work from India here, provides a platform for us to highlight conservation issues on an international scale,’’ he says.

That got me going all over and i ordered it from FlipKart, the Indian Amazon, very late night on June 28 for INR 2,213.  The folks delivered it in less than 2 days flat!  That too on Cash on Delivery, an option unique to India ;-)

All things come to those who wait. I found the mantis (above) on page 24 and, IMHO, that itself is worth the money spent on the book.

Very interestingly, the Acknowledgments revealed that Nandan was one of the two "tipping points" for the book.

Sahyadris, by Sandesh Kadur & Kamal Bawa

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever.

Hangin' There!

The evening of last Thursday, i was feeling in a bit of a blue funk when i read this in How to Live with God: (page 72, middle)

Nrityagopal Goswami also saw Ramakrishna in Dhaka.  He described the event: "While I was in Dhaka, I was feeling extremely unhappy.  There was a wooded area on the outskirts of the city that was often used as a graveyard.  To my surprise at a distance I saw someone seated on the ground.  I went up to him and asked, 'What are you doing here?' He said he wished to talk to me.  Though he said very little, his words dispelled all my depression and doubts.  He got up and started to walk away.  Then he turned to me affectionately and said, 'Nrityagopal, my dear, do not let go of what you are holding on to.'  After that I didn't see him anymore.  I related all this to Vijay (Krishna Goswami).  He said he too had seen the same person in the woods.  That night I had a remarkable dream in which I saw myself talking with that divine-looking person and listening to his wonderful words.  My joy was beyond description."

How to Live in the World

It is very difficult to do one's duty in the world. If you whirl round too fast you feel giddy and faint; but there is no such fear if you hold on to a post. Do your duty, but do not forget God.
—Sri Ramakrishna

Go-ogle-ing Places

Last Monday [June 21, the longest day, ask Federer ;-)], there was a very interesting article on Google Places in the TECH-à-TETE of ToI called:

A Search For Future Of Search

About six months ago, Aftab, a power yoga instructor in Bangalore, was struggling to make both ends meet. With just nine clients, he was clueless on how to take his business forward. That’s when Aftab decided to register with Google Places, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Google Places is a free service that allows local businesses to find their customers online.

"It’s Google's way to let businesses take control of what search users see when they search for a product in their area", said Manik Gupta, product manager, Google. "Without investing a single rupee, it’s your website. You are visible online. People register on Google Places to attract customers for free."

Don't miss getting your SOHO biz onto Google Places, which is listed when others search in Google Maps.  For instance, see what Google Maps displays when you search for:

Palm Meadows Consultants

The best part is that Google Places is ***free*** and is integrated with your GMail / Google Account (Create New Google Account).

The addition of a new biz (yours) to Google Places is quite straightforward and self-explanatory.  Try it!