How to build your own wireless Home Media Center

You can buy a Raspberry Pi, flash Raspbmc image on it, then add a wifi USB Adapter, Wireless Keyboard-Touchpad, Wireless Speaker, and Remote Control phone app to build your wireless Home Media Center. I’m listing all model/version numbers used in my setup below.

Hardware you may already have

Wireless G Cable Modem – Motorola SBG901 ($50)
http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-SURFboard-Gateway-SBG901-Wireless/dp/B002M3SJ6U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379706422&sr=8-1&keywords=sbg901

TV with HDMI – Samsung 32” 1080p LED HDTV ($310)
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-UN32EH5000-32-Inch-1080p-Black/dp/B0071O4ETQ/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1364835946&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=samsung+1080p+led+hdtv

TV Stand ($50)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002HWR598/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 

Required Hardware

Rasberrry Pi Model B or newer ($35 computer)
http://www.raspberrypi.org/

Rasberry Pi Case ($13)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009NKNDVG/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

USB Power Adapter – Adafruit 5.25V 1A ($10)
http://www.adafruit.com/blog/2012/07/11/the-best-power-supply-for-the-raspberry-pi-is-from-adafruit/

HDMI Cable ($6)
http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-High-Speed-HDMI-Cable-Meters/dp/B003L1ZYYM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379707564&sr=8-1&keywords=HDMI+cable

SD Card 4 GB min. ($6)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0037FLUYU/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Mini Wireless Keyboard with Touchpad – Favi ($27)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003UE52ME/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Wireless USB Adapter – Edimax ($11)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003MTTJOY/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Optional Hardware

Bluetooth Transmitter – Miccus ($60)
http://www.amazon.com/Miccus-Home-RTX-Bluetooth-Transmitter/dp/B00713RSE0/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1379704536&sr=1-2&keywords=bluetooth+transmitter

Bluetooth Speaker – JBL ($100)
http://www.amazon.com/JBL-Wireless-Bluetooth-Speaker-Black/dp/B009AXVM6E/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1379704628&sr=1-1&keywords=JBL+speaker

NOTE: There’s noticeable latency between the sound that’s received by the bluetooth speaker and one that’s coming from the TV. The bluetooth speaker setup is meant for having wireless and portable sound in an additional room such as study/ kitchen/ bath or for audio while the TV is asleep/ switched off.

Software

RASPBMC Software (free)
http://www.raspbmc.com/

XBMC Remote Control Android Phone App – Yatse (free)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.leetzone.android.yatsewidgetfree&hl=en

MPEG-2 and VC-1 Codecs ($5)
http://www.raspberrypi.com/license-keys/

Raspberry Pi and Raspbmc let you to play local and online content on TV. Watch movies, listen to shows/talks/music, display slideshows, browse and play videos on Youtube, TED and other channels, listen to online streaming radio, view images on Picassa and Flickr, read Dilbert and Garfield cartoon strips, and check the weather forecast.

Yatse enables you to browse local content and online channels on the phone, use the phone as a remote control, and send what’s playing on phone to the TV and/or wireless speaker making it possible to search while watching on the side.

You’ll love the wireless home experience just the way I’m loving it.

Windows Live Mail loses emails due to folder sync issue

I was a happy Windows Live Mail user until a snag in the app wiped out 1000s of my important emails from many years. Here’s how it happens and how to recover emails if it were to happen to you.

• I use Live Mail from two instances on different computers. Many people may be doing that.
• If you rename an email folder on one computer, the other computer does not sync as expected and starts displaying 2 folders – Old one with the emails and new one empty.
• That’s annoying, so you move your emails from the old folder to the new and delete the old. Windows Live mail warns “Are you sure?”. Ofcourse, because you’re deleting an empty folder right?
• After syncing,  you realize, you’ve wiped out your emails completely including from the server itself.

If you contact Microsoft Support for help, they will tell you that support is available only to Premium customers and free email accounts don’t deserve any support.

So, the only options left at this point are therapy/ rehabilitation basically.

But if you’re using Windows 7, you may be lucky! Because what comes to the rescue for saving you from one Microsoft issue is another Microsoft feature.

• Emails are stored locally as .eml files and .eml files can be dragged and dropped right back into Windows Live Mail.
• Windows Live Mail stores emails locally in a hidden email account folder C:\Users\[user]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Live Mail\Hotmail (xx xxx
• Windows 7 saves backup copies of every file and folder which can be recovered by right clicking and selecting Properties > Previous Versions
• So what you need to do is close the Live Mail app, create a copy of your email account folder naming it with a _current suffix, restore previous version on email account folder and rename it with a _previous suffix, rename back the current version removing _current suffix, open Live Mail app, drag and drop .eml files from the _previous folder directly into Live Mail app and allow them to sync up to the server. Done! Supercool. You’ve just recovered your lost emails.

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Idiots Guide to Thinking

• Think of yourself as intelligent – To become what you want to be, be what you want to become!
• Stop deliberating – When working on difficult problems, deliberate thinking reduces the possibilities you see and hinders the process of finding an answer. When the brain  on its own without conscious interference and internal disturbances For e.g. When you wake up refreshed after a good night’s sleep, when you’re out on a walk, or while you’re in the shower, better thinking can happen. (1)
• Don’t let emotions block your thought process – When you experience emotional states like ecstasy, anger, hatred, egotistical pride or ones like fear, anxiety, apprehension, and inferiority, your ability to think drops. Ignoring or suppressing emotions does not help. Instead, learn and practice to recognize, interpret, and use the message those emotions are conveying you in a positive way. (1, 2)
• Being wrong feels like being right – Noticed how we love to watch and laugh at “dumb and dumber” style movies in which someone else is being wrong or stupid, but tend to hide or act as if nothing happened when we err and fall ourselves? We hate to be wrong, and so, avoid facing the possibility of being wrong. We tend to vigorously defend our wrong as right rather than trying to look at it from a different perspective. This is never helpful and at times can be very dangerous. (3)
• We are emotional animals – Words trigger different thoughts and emotions in different people. Some people listen to and think about everything always in their own context and fail to see any other scenario or meaning. Some people may feel confronted and opposed by any idea that is against their own and may stop listening or may listen to only a few words but not the entire sentence getting offended and attempting to refute everything the other says. If you are emotional you cannot think.
• Keep it clean – We may feel that we think on our own, but thinking happens in the brain on its own; at the same time, we also seem to have some control over it. The brain affects thinking, but thinking in turn changes the brain. So if the brain has formed bad neuro associations through prejudice, hatred, unreasonable attitude, preconceived notions and wrong assumptions or careless and substandard thinking patterns, those will be hard to overcome making it difficult for good thinking to happen. Be willing to unlearn the wrong things that you’ve inadvertently learnt and internalized.
• Develop a keen sense – for noticing unusual, unexpected, or anomalous behavior, utterance, or occurrence. It is a glimpse of the unknown.
• Spend time to learn and understand how your brain works – You are your brain! A lot of research has been done and some very astonishing and practically useful facts about the brain are out there. Its worth spending time to learn a bit about the working of this all-encompassing organ we so heavily rely on every single moment of our life. (4, 5)

 

more later…

• Don’t lose sight of the forest for the trees.
• Carefully validate and restrict scope of any model you choose to think with.
• Inculcate mental discipline, avoid common logical pitfalls. (6, 7 – previous posts on this blog)
• Question assumptions and challenge set beliefs.
• Question harder and look deeper till you find correct and complete answers.
• What one experiences depends on what one is tuned to! For even slightly vivid experiences, what different people observe, feel, and understand is greatly different! What experiences are you soaking up?
• Listen to yourself! Don’t neglect the vast amount you already know about how the world works.

Related links: 1. Your brain at work 2. How we decide 3. Kathryn Schulz: On being wrong 4. BBC Brain Story (6 part documentary) 5. The Amazing Brain 6. We are thinking animals 7. Logic and Fallacies 8. How to tie your shoes 9. Daniel Amen – Change your Brain

The City on Steroids

Dubai came back to my mind after I watched the grand opening ceremony of Burj Khalifa (formerly Burj Dubai), the tallest building in the world today. I first heard about the city and this building from my best friend Sakina 5 years ago when she visited Dubai and the building’s construction had just begun! 5 years later it stands tall and completed; bringing even more meaning to my IM chats with her and our internet friendship. I’d like to post some videos on Dubai and visit the city like no other!

 

The city and its people: Crazy development (must read) | Dubai cars

Burj Dubai: Opening ceremony | Good Morning America report

Burj Al Arab: World’s only 7 star Hotel

Dubai Mall: The World’s largest Shopping Mall

Land reclaimation projects: Nakheel vision | The World

The ruler: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum | 60 minutes interview Parts 1- 4 | HH Sheikh Mohammed on Facebook

 

 

 

  

Mind Power

Beyond the valley of well established knowledge rises the mountain of independent thoughts,
the peak of which is often shrouded in beautiful insights of the unconscious mind.

Related links: Your Brain at Work

Who am I? What do I want?

 

I enjoy thinking up interesting questions and finding answers to them.	I’d love to chat with smart people, understand, discover, or create something new.
I have dared, taken risk, and closely experienced danger.	I hope to stay cool, and be bold and decisive esp. in a critical time of need.
I am healthy and extremely tough.	I would like to live healthier and become tougher.
I try to listen or see carefully, think clearly, and speak or act correctly.	I wish to have a good focus, want my ideas to be pervasive, thoughts discriminating, to be effective in communication and perfect in actions.
I have explored with my mind and senses.	I hope to be fortunate in coming across and alert in not failing to notice as much of what is worth seeing and experiencing.
I understand that mistakes are unaffordably expensive and many can be easily avoided.	I hope to be wise, not careless or presuming, and never to be caught unprepared.
I am quite stubborn. I understand well and generally don’t flip-flop or go back and forth.	I want to be more of the same, while remaining open-minded, flexible, and non-monotonic! (i.e. able to revise old beliefs when new knowledge becomes available)
I have learnt that being dominating is bad, and also that being docile or over-accommodating is worse!	I want to be able to stand up and speak for myself, never allow to be coerced or bullied, and sometimes, be skilled in giving clever and on-the-spot replies as well.
When challenged my reactions have generally been something to be proud of.	I want to be a good player in the game of life!
I feel that I have enjoyed a red carpet treatment in this world; and likewise, have never harmed others and always been generous, compassionate, forgiving, loving, and truthful.	I pray the creation continues to be beautiful, benevolent, nourishing, generous, healing, and merciful to me and all those who I love.
I treat my life experiences, people I’ve met, and events I’ve witnessed as a personal treasure.	I don’t want them to fade with time.

 

 

Beyond the usual meaning of ‘Smart’

Dictionaries define smart as intelligent, knowledgeable, or quick-witted. I kept feeling that this definition is correct but not complete. After thinking about this for over six months I feel that my mind has finally come up with a satisfactory answer.

Smartness means that if there is something to be realized, it is.

Firstly, the definition does not make me feel happy because of the time and effort it took me to realize the same. Secondly, now when I look back, my pursuit seems to fly in the face of a great theory by Spike which goes –

The ability to focus attention on important things is a defining characteristic feature of intelligence…

I still think that my discovery will help me turn myself smarter and humbler.

Related links: Best decisions made unconsciously | More words of wisdom from Spike

Dialogues from the Mahabharat (Hindi)

Veteran Bollywood filmmaker and producer BR Chopra died of old age today (Nov 5th, 2008). He was 94. These dialogues from his world record making TV serial Mahabharat are a tribute to him.

E1.1 Vachan diya socha nahi, hoga kya parinam. Soch samajh kijiye, jeevan mein har kaam!

E2.1 Nath ke hote koi anath kaise ho sakta hai? Bhagwan kab kiske hath ko apna hath bana lete hain, koi nahi jaanta. Bhagwan kab kiski aankhon se kise dekh lete hain pata nahi. We kab kiske pairon se chalkar kiske paas jate hain, ye kewal wohi jaante hain!

E2.2 Aas keh rahi shwaas se, dheeraj rakhna seekh. Maange bin moti mile, maange mile na bheekh!

E2.3 Devlok mei bhi chausar hoti hai. Per wahan per gotiyan hoti hai manusha. Wahan pasa kaal se fikwate hain, aur usi se gotiyan badhwate bhi hai, aur usi se gotiyan pitwate bhi hain!

E4.1 (Song) Beet gaye, din per din beet gaye… Dekar anmol mol, lekar anmol mol, paya sukh atulaniya, dukh paya atulaniya… Atma ke meet mile, atma ke meet gaye! Din per din beet gaye…

E5.1 Mata ye sambhav nahi, Bhishma kare vrat tyag, chahe sheetal Surya ho, barse Shashi se aag!

E6.1 Jo hona hai wo tou hokar hi rahega. Manusha ka ye kartavya hai ke vartamaan ki jholi mei apna uphaar daalkar aage barh jaye!

E6.2 Jeevan data ek hai, samdarshi bhagwaan. Jaisi jiski patrata, waisa jeevan daan! Tamas rajas sat gunawati, mata prakriti pradhan. Jaisi janani bhavana, waisi hi santaan!

More later…

 

A tribute to Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw

I am adding quotes and links to some very interesting stories that provide insight into the inspiring life and work of this legendary hero who recently passed away.

 

His Quotes:

 

• Discipline is the code of conduct of decent living.
• What is moral courage? It is the ability to distinguish right from wrong and having so distinguished it, be prepared to say so, irrespective of the views held by your superiors or subordinates and of consequence to yourself.
• Any one who says he knows no fear, is either lying, or Gurkha!
• [funny] To those of my commanders, who took an inordinately long time to come to a decision – I coined a Manekshawism “If you have to be a bloody fool, be one quickly.”
• [funny] Officers, you have kept up the great tradition of the Indian Army… [pause] of having beautiful wives.
• [funny] Preparing for the Bangladesh operations, when Indira Gandhi asked him, ‘General, are you ready?’, he promptly replied ‘I’m always ready, sweetie’.

Related links: Sam Bahadhur | Glimpses | Kashmir accession Part 1 , Part 2 | Pakistani army’s action in Bangladesh 1971 (Disgusting crimes. Link was removed.) | Liberation of Bangladesh Part 1 , Part 2

 

 

Shiva’s third eye

The most popular legend behind Lord Shiva’s third eye goes like this –

 

Once, while Shiva sat rapt in meditation, his consort, Parvati, came up from behind and in a moment of zest, playfully closed both his eyes with the palms of her hands. Soon as she had done so, the whole world was plunged into darkness and ominous turmoil. To prevent the impending catastrophe, there immediately sprung from Shiva’s forehead a fiery third eye, and thus the world was saved from the inevitable disaster which would have followed.

 

The fierce light from his third eye is so powerful and destructive, that since then, he only opens it to destroy all that is unconscious, dark, and dualistic in this universe. Shiva’s third eye opens to end all illusion!

 

I heard someone give a pseudo scientific explanation to Shiva’s third eye. He claimed that Shiva may have been a living person long in the past, a baby born to some powerful and respected leader of a tribe, but with a rare genetic deformity that gave him a third eye. Back in those days, there was no knowledge of genetics and so the tribals must have looked at it as a miracle and elevated Shiva’s status to that of God.

 

This sort of reasoning comes from choosing to look at just one aspect, applying some idea, and trying to come up with a quick and dirty explanation, conveniently ignoring everything that it conflicts with.

 

What I understand from the legend is that, the concept of Shiva’s third eye also known as the inner eye may actually refer to the mind’s eye or the eye of wisdom or knowledge. The fact that its situated on the forehead may not be without a reason. I’ve realized that the mind’s eye exactly fits the description of Shiva’s third eye and for humans is the best and the only proper way to understand reality.

 

 

 

Related links: Lord Shiva | Shiva – symbolisms | The legend behind Shiva’s third eye | The third eye of Shiva

 

Desert pastime

 

Here is something very different, very dangerous (and unaffordable too) which I came to know just today. I haven’t seen something so thrilling in my life! I watched so many of these videos and later ended up reading and knowing much about the very different people, culture, and laws of a country I knew little about before.

 

Watch Erhabe (saudi drifting). Enjoy the racy music too. Some of the best videos are here link1, link2, link3, link4, link5, link6, link7, link8, link9, link10, link11, link12, link13, link14, link15. Its not like Saudis only know one outdoor activity. There are variations – watch road skating (Observe the traffic. Others don’t even refrain from passing Its so normal!).

 

Related links: KSA

 

 

Punjab, Punjabiyat, and Sikhism

Punjab is a land with a glorious past. Its rich cultural heritage, tall brave people, spicy food, and lively music is popular all over India and the rest of the world.

 

I will add some punjabi links here under the following categories.

 

Sikh culture: Introduction1, sikh way of life, khalsa teachings, sikh women (Contributed by Spike),

History of Sikhism: Five takhts1, part2, guru arjan dev singh ji1, part2, part3, guru gobind singh ji, hari singh nalwa, part2,

Sikh martial art: Gatka demo, sword1, part2, spear, stick, various weapons, gatka war scene, bbc documentary,

Atrocities on Sikhs: Jalian wala bagh1, part2,  sant baba jarnail singh ji khalsa bhindranwale, clip2, clip3, clip4, clip5, clip6, clip7, more

Punjabi music: Jatt punjabi, do cheezan, pagg patiala, pammi bai live in seattle1, part2, part3, part4, babe bhangra pounde ne (gurdas mann), mirza (harbhajan mann), Tenu saal solahwa, thori mila de,

Punjabi dubbing: Ahmedinejad, musharaf, bush, terminator, spiderman, bruce lee, lagaan, mr. bean, michael jackson, snoop dogg, hip-hop, donkey, simpsons,

Punjabi comedy: funny bhangra, Je bapu ne tenu dekh leya, mushtaq ahmad on toss,

Punjabi people:

Punjabi cuisine:

 

JO BOLE SO NIHAL, SAT SRI AKAL

WAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA, WAHEGURU JI KI FATEH!

 

 

Ego (I, me, my, mine)

Consciousness is the phenomenon by virtue of which mindful beings are aware of their existence, receptive to sensation, and capable of thought. Two abilities arise from consciousness and associative mechanism of the brain – Intelligence and Ego. That which helps differentiate and dedifferentiate is Intelligence. That which separates a being making it identify with what is within the boundary surrounding its body and senses and everything that the mind has associated with these is Ego. A person who wants to see the truth as it is, allows his mind to think in all possible directions. A deluded person full of ego does not let his mind think in all directions, because the controlling ego is afraid, the mind might bring to his awareness something which is inconvenient for or not in the interest of itself. Such a mind is perennially in distress with thoughts directed and limited only towards making minor personal gains, scoring small victories over others, and justifying everything that it believes is ‘mine’, while rubbishing everything that it believes – does not belong to ‘me’.

 

Ego can manifest itself in different forms. It may appear benevolent when it makes a mother take care of her helpless and needy child. It may appear as a must for survival when it helps individuals group together to fight against and defend themselves from a common enemy. Whatever form it takes, the Ego is always a ‘false center’. It is an illusion, an accumulated ill developed over time in our minds, because of us not being aware and in acceptance of our position and unimportance in the universal creation.

 

It is the ego which makes us join and develop ever so large social networks, that make us feel significant, valuable, appreciated and always at the center. Leaving out those who do not decide the kind of food cooked and consumed in their houses, and those who feel obligated to eat meat by custom or habit, it is the ego which makes us knowingly ignore the immense pain and suffering we inflict on animals who also sense distress and experience trauma just like us! Ego makes us cling on and stick fast to superstitions, baseless beliefs, and ill practices within our religion/community making us swear by the books, or justify them as being ‘age old’, or ‘scientific’ while still being smart enough to see through, rubbish, and ridicule customs/practices belonging to the religion/community of someone other. Terrorism/armed aggression too can clearly be seen arising from ego and understood as the havoc created by a few people who consider themselves ‘belonging’ to a particular nation/religion/community, owning up misconcepts, upholding wrong beliefs, hating and killing for personal gain everyone else they perceive to be ‘outside’ or ‘not belonging’ to their nation/religion/community.

 

Why do we so strongly associate ourselves with ‘me’ and ‘mine’? What did we do to create ourselves? To obtain the dexterity and smartness that makes us feel so special and so much above all other organisms? If it was just chance that attributed different characteristics to different living beings, how then are we different, any more important, and superior to moss growing on the bark of a tree or mould growing on bread? The question to think about is – What would I do if I was not ‘me’? Afterall, I did nothing to be ‘me’! What would you do if you were not belonging to your nation/religion/community but to some other? For eg. If you were a good citizen, but a muslim by faith living in Iraq or Afghanistan? Where would you be then? What would be your life experience? What if you belonged to your opp. sex? What would you do if you were not human but a fish (with fins, tail, and a tiny brain)? What would you be doing if you were a bird (with wings and a beak)? What would life be like if you were a snake (who could only crawl and bite)! What if you were a (lifeless and mindless) stone, an (amazingly restless) electron or a (tiny but fast) photon? How would it be like being something else! 

 

Overcome your ego to find the answer…

 

Related links: Ego the False Center

Causality in space and time

Events or combination of events affect things in very complex ways. The when, where, and how can be very difficult to realize, estimate, or imagine. Right now, the simplest examples that come to my mind are outsourcing, global  warming, and female foeticide.

 

The British may never have dreamt that by starting schools in India to prepare people for taking up clerical jobs by teaching them English would one day create a nation full of people set to take away their own jobs, affect their lives adversely, and become an economical challenge for them.

 

While driving a car, a person does not think that many others like him doing the same thing would increase the 0.038% of CO2 present in the atmosphere by a small amount, which would result in more sunlight getting trapped, elevate the earth’s temperature by a fraction of a degree each year, melt the polar ice caps, change the ocean currents, thereby drastically change the climate of the world, damage the earth’s ecology beyond repair, cause a serious threat to the living world, and affect the lives of a few million people!

 

Many people in India wish to have a male child. Sadly, in villages and even in urban areas, female foeticide is not very uncommon. Today in Gujarat where the male-female ratio has declined, many men are forced to stay unmarried. Those that are getting married are having to marry women from lower socio-religious classes and pay up a lot of money. Women in Andhra, on the other hand, already troubled by ever increasing dowry demands, are finding these grooms from a different region and speaking a completely different language suitable for marriage. Who could have thought of such a consequence?

 

If we observe carefully, occurrences such as these happen all the time in our individual and collective lives and sometimes they are quite amazing. Things affect other things in space and time. We need to get this down in our heads. It is left for us to investigate or imagine what effects our actions will have on the future, or how we will be affected by changes happening somewhere else far away or in another time. More importantly, the strong understanding of this phenomenon would make us behave responsibly, act morally, be less greedy and more cautious in everything we do. Its important if we as individuals or as a race want to be any better than animals, whose future, as we know, depends entirely on fate.

 

Related links: Spike’s article on INDIA’S MISSING GIRLS

On religions and God

Different religions/philosophies formulate different ideas about God. Ignorant people maintain that their religion is the best religion in the world and swear by the number of followers. Materialistic people try to stay popular maintaining an "accept all and respect all" policy, simply to make their petty ends meet. I find them silly who say that all religions/philosophies teach one and the same thing. I believe that there are superior and inferior religions based on the amount of awareness or ignorance they propogate. I don’t feel the need to be nice  or pleasing to anyone. "Gita mei jagat ki sanrachna" is a hindi article in which the author quotes views on the nature of God expressed in the hindu text. The same views are also reflected in the texts of middle eastern religions like Islam and other eastern religions like Sikhism but not necessarily in all other popular religions of the world some of which constantly appear to be in conflict with Science. I find these ideas impossible to disagree with for any unbiased human being capable of rational thought.

 

To summarize my understanding of the text in my own words, there is no thinking God who listens to our prayers, watches over our actions, rewards or punishes us after death with heaven or hell. There is one God. It is best described as supreme, eternal, unbiased, and all powerful. It is not intelligent but gives rise to the phenomenon of Intelligence in higher animals like humans just as it gives rise to fragrance in flowers or lustre in gold. The universe itself is a phenomenon which comes into existence and ceases to exist for no particular reason (My best guess based on current knowledge). We and everything else in it are simply part of the phenomenon. There is nothing we can call our very own, no thought, no action that we perform is ours as such. And yet, we are all forced to keep on existing, thinking, and acting uninterruptedly.

 

Even if understanding of the nature of God, the universe, and our position and role in the world may seem too far fetched and worthless for our practical day to day lives on first thought, it is crucially important to have the right views on fundamental questions such as these. Ones that conform with observations and not those which are just widely accepted over a long period of time or by a great number of people. Because with right views come right thoughts, and with right thoughts come right actions. Without right views, it is impossible to live a worthy and meaningful life.

 

Related links: Psychology of Religion | Philosophy of Science | Stoicism

The best relationship

Long time back, my friend Allina said to me – "Parag, friendship is the best relationship in the world!". At that time I couldn’t understand the meaning of it.  I thought she must be saying so to make me feel good. But it wasn’t so. I understand it completely now. True friendship is the best relationship in the world.

We see siblings fight each other over day to day things or property and money. A husband or wife feels jealous and angry if his or her spouse likes somebody else. Parents expect from their kids and feel hurt and sad if their child does not marry per their wishes or if the marriage dosen’t make them very proud in their community. A friend only expects honesty, understanding, respect, and besides these, nothing but what is best for the other! That’s all that a friend wants.

Logic and fallacies

Our preferences and decisions; our opinions, values, and beliefs; our entire philosophy of life is based on the way we think. Every word uttered and every action conducted (thoughtfully) in our lives depends on it. And yet, most of us make little or no effort during our thought process to ensure the correctness and completeness of our basic assumptions; or the validity and soundness of our arguments. The conclusions we draw, the decisions we make, the opinions we express, and beliefs that we so firmly hold on to, are hence more often incorrect than correct, and this becomes the root cause behind differences and clashing views which lead to chaos, unhappiness, frustration, anger, and hatred in our collective lives.

Rationality is present within all of us as part of the gift of Intelligence. But it becomes subdued with laziness, inactivity, and carelessness of the mind. It has to be revived and put to good use through practice and disciplined mental effort. 

Logical Fallacies are common pitfalls one must be aware of and avoid while making an effort to think rationally. Following and reading the links given below will immediately make you realize some of the errors you or someone else made in the past. Logical mistakes which you may have read in articles, blogs, or debates on the internet; seen in the news, or heard during conversations with friends. Knowing about them will help you avoid committing these mistakes yourself and in identifying those you most certainly will come across over and over again in thoughts expressed by others.

Related links: Page on Logic and Fallacies from the Atheism Web | Fallacies from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy | Fallacy definition from Wikipedia | Critical Thinking Course from Longview Community College

We are thinking animals

Information comes to us in many ways; speech, books, newspapers, television, and the Internet. Often what we are told is biased, partly true, or completely untrue. At times information is hidden from us and at other times information is delibrately put before us with an aim of making us think or feel in a certain way. It could be because someone just wants to hog our collective mind to make their petty ends meet, or it could be more sinister; like someone wanting to brainwash our mind to gain control over us and use us to accomplish their own goals.

 

Information at first glance seems pretty straightforward, but sometimes it takes considerable effort and insight to comprehend. We are influenced by our memories, emotions, and religious beliefs; by those who we respect or love and that which we hold sacred. Celebrities have the power to captivate people. Leaders know how to use words to their advantage or be ambiguous in order to sway the popular opinion. Different people accept different types of evidence and some people don’t need any evidence at all!  Even great scientists and philosophers are sometimes unconsciously biased. Truth remains elusive. Reaching it may be as easy as blowing away a thin curtain of smoke or it could be as hard as digging deep underneath to reach a precious stone.

 

There are a number of logical pitfalls to confuse the intellect. People who are influential because of their wealth or education, power, position or reputation are not always rational. A popular opinion need not necessarily be correct. We often get trapped in either-or situations and end up making inappropriate choices. Citing a trivial example, in the case of Michael Jackson’s acquittal, most people took one of three positions. His fans wanted to believe that he is innocent. Those familiar with corruption felt that Jackson is so rich, he must have bribed the judges. Others familiar with sueing felt that the boy’s mother must have been greedy. Caught between these choices, people failed to see that Jackson may have been found innocent; justly so in that particular case, but may be bad otherwise! One judge mentioned in an interview that the mother snapped her finger at the Jury. "Nobody snaps a finger at the Jury", he said. Which means that Jackson may actually be guilty, but the opposite side could have lost because it irked some members of the Jury. This shows that real causes can be unusual or varied and one should as a matter of principle, avoid making hasty judgements.

 

Is thinking to understand important? According to Aristotle, a life whose goal is understanding and appreciating the universe is worth living. Socrates chose death because he believed that thinking independently and criically to find the truth is essential for the nurturing and growth of an individual’s soul as well as for the health and welfare of the state. A life without this type of examination according to him was not worth living.

 

Related links: Pu La Deshpande’s views on asking questions (Marathi)

 

AIDS

As of Nov 2004, more than 20 million people around the world have died of AIDS-related diseases since the epidemic began. More than 40 million people are living with HIV and may be expected to die in the next decade. In 2003 alone, 4.8 million people were newly infected with HIV and 2.9 million men, women, and children died of the disease.

Being infected with the HIV virus does not equate with having AIDS. HIV is a retro-virus, It may take 5 to 10 year to develop into a full-blown disease. For this period, a person can be infected without showing any symptoms, at the same time, spread the virus to many other people. This is the most dangerous aspect of the disease.

Women, who bear children and care for the family are more vulnerable to AIDS for various biological and social reasons and also easily pass on the disease to their young ones during pregnancy or later through breast-feeding.

Though trade barriers (such as TRIPS) have been relaxed and patent rights lifted to make AIDS drugs available to countries that need them most, this is true only for old and outdated drugs and profitability still stands in the way of saving lives.

Overall, we are currently in a position to help only a fraction of the people who need help from the disease.

Mystic India

Don’t miss a chance to watch this film. 

It explores the ancient culture and living civilization of the fascinating land of India.

Travel with Neelkanth, an 11-year-old child yogi, as he walks barefoot across India for seven years, covering 8,000 miles and experiencing all of the vast diversity of the region on an unforgettable journey. See the mountains, rivers, deserts and deltas that cover India’s natural landscape, and experience the astounding art and architecture, intriguing rituals and colorful customs, fascinating festivals and timeless traditions of the Indian people. Filmed in over 100 locations, all over India, Mystic India brings this millennia-old country, the world’s oldest and largest democracy, breathtakingly to life.

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Blade of grass

If I have to be a blade of grass in a sea of green, Let me be cool, fresh, and invigorating…