When the Lights Hurt the Eyes

DRUMZ #285
`` Perhaps there is no right and wrong? ``

I donot know what is written in the Vedas, but I think the theory generally says there is the `inherent nature of things` or prakriti, and then there is the `Absolute`. This doesnot mean that right is the same as wrong, it means both right and wrong and all in between are the building blocks and elements of creation.

What is needed is discrimination or `vivek` to distinguish between the various nuances of prakriti, for eg between activity and sloth, knowledge and ignorance, desire-influenced actions and selfless actions, calmness and disarray, etc. Discrimination is also needed as a step toward `realising` that the `inherent nature of things` which actually provides living beings their motive power, good or bad, is not the same thing as the underlying eternal or unchanging `Absolute`, like `dust on a mirror`?

Now don`t ask what the `Absolute` is. To learn to steer `prakriti` in the general right direction seems hard enough to take a number of births by itself :)

re: semipreciousme

``…why not?..sher-e-punjab and daugter of the east have shown us the worst side of each gender…maybe its time to try…um… the neutral (?) way…i think an eunuch also stood in the local body elections in pakistan….he/she either lost by a narrow margin….``

in india, this is the second known case...in the first one, the eunuch won the local election...and from what i understood, for good reason...he/she/it ran on a very simple platform to fix the village roads, clean streets regularly, fix crumbling school buildings, etc...and the eunuch actually delivered on these promises and made voters` lives tangibly better

DRUMS---285

The origin of the word GOD is the farsi or rather Pehlavi/Kudaa .Still used in urdu.From /Khud --the ONE by himself.

If I am not mistaken the `problem` or `corruption` of Monism in hinduism started with Brahmanism(& therefore casteism).The prevailing (misguided)concept that Eeshwar takes the form of Brahmin(human) & is therefore to be venerated & held in sacred esteem smacks closer to }in his own image{.

re: semipreciousme

``…icc really needs to get its act together… the way they’re on shoaib akhtar’s case is nauseating to say the least…he keeps getting called for throwing even though he’s been cleared by an icc appointed institute…just recently, he was called…AGAIN….and the icc has the nerve to tell him to remodel his action…AGAIN….this whole thing with india is nauseating…i think they’ve refused to play if denness is match referee…but the icc’s said they’re not going to remove him…let’s see what happens….``

...the number of complaints againts indian and pakistani players over the past 5 years is greater than the number for all other countries put together...i think that says something...but hey, finally a common enemy for india and pakistan to fight against...i read that the two cricket boards have decided to fight this together...

Re: macgupta #270

macgupta,

``. . . suddenly I had the wonderful vision of the Mother . . . I did not know what happened then in the external world . . . But, in my heart of hearts, there was flowing a current of intense bliss, never experienced before, and I had the immediate knowledge of the light, that was Mother. . . . It was as if houses, doors, temples and all other things vanished altogether; as if there was nothing anywhere! And what I saw, was a boundless infinite conscious sea of light! However far and in whatever direction I looked, I found a continuous succession of effulgent waves coming forward, raging and storming . . . ([S01],143).``

So this is what life is all about.

(1) intense Bliss. (2) light - (sufficiently high wattage), (3) 20-foot waves (raging, storming).

We can handle the `light` and `waves` with one of those virtual-reality simulations. Bliss may be had by a real-time massage.

Let us know if this would meet specifications for Ramakrishna`s `experience`.



DRUMZ,

``This field is tricky mainly because u have to rely mostly on SELF. Its a big and dangerous step to leave organized religion with the common folk and begin the actual search from within.``

Please describe in detail the `search from within`. (For some of us who don`t know where exactly to look.)

best regards,

Jawahara (#258&261):

Hey, that was a sweet note! Especially liked the gentle irony of the ‘you vs. urchin’ situation. Weren’t we all given a lecture about money spent on firecrackers becoming ‘raakh’? But the elders around would end up watching the fun, anyway. Thanks for sharing…

dost-mittarji (269):

[I read about ``kholis`` when I was still in India. I also read about ``chawls`` but am not sure what`s the difference between the two (multi storey/single storey?). In any case, I suspect most of them have now been converted into high rise apartments.]

Chawls are large ‘apartment’ blocks with a verandah running across the whole floor with each ‘flat’ being usually a one or two-room unit. Most likely, there are common bathroom/toilet facilities and it is not unusual to see people forming queues with ‘lotas’ in their hands. The chawls still exist in many lower-middle class areas. I wonder if you saw that rather cute film by Sai Paranjpye called ‘Katha’. It was about the lives of those dwelling there, including the hero and heroine. Another film by Saeed Mirza ‘Mohan Joshi Haazir Ho’ too had its protagonist living in a chawl, typifying the common man and his battle with the system.

A kholi is more often than not a hut, though it could be a precarious stand-alone structure anywhere. However it wouldn’t be out of place for people living anywhere to call their homes ‘kholis’ if they are speaking in bambaiyya Hindi :) These days some have added an extra floor to their kholis (all unofficial, but chalta hai, if they pay regular hafta to the slum lord/cop).

shima (#272):

Re: ‘Sarhadein’. I watch it quite often, and I am just waiting to see how things develop. Btw, there were some protests in India and certain groups wanted the serial to be taken off air. I only skimmed through the headlines and ended up watching the serial because of that. I am not sure who/which group started this nonsense.

A small note: After seeing most of the first 100 replies or so, I must confess to being overwhelmed by the ‘positive vibes’ many of us share. I merely related what had happened in my life as it has in many others. And I am glad that there has been very little cynical response to what I have said despite my ‘reputation’. For that, a big thank you to the Chowkie spirit!

Another note: Once Badurshah Zafar asked Ghalib, towards the end of the Ramazan fasting period,

“Kitne roze rakhe hai aapne?” Ghalib, without a pause, replied, “Janaab, ek roza na rakha!” See the delectable use of ‘ek’. I ‘broke’ my ‘fast’ last evening at my cousin’s house and even stayed for dinner. Everyone was surprised I did not hang around for ‘sehri’. I think Ghalib is going to come in very handy at some point to rescue me :)

Regards,

Farzana

RSaxena

“...ironic how it is always the indian, pakistani, and sri lankan cricketers being accused of cheating by the racist biat$hes running the cricket boards in the white host countries...”

…icc really needs to get its act together… the way they’re on shoaib akhtar’s case is nauseating to say the least…he keeps getting called for throwing even though he’s been cleared by an icc appointed institute…just recently, he was called…AGAIN….and the icc has the nerve to tell him to remodel his action…AGAIN….this whole thing with india is nauseating…i think they’ve refused to play if denness is match referee…but the icc’s said they’re not going to remove him…let’s see what happens….

{They are all one and the same. It is time for eunuchs to rise and teach all of them a lesson,`` asserted Payal. }



…why not?..sher-e-punjab and daugter of the east have shown us the worst side of each gender…maybe its time to try…um… the neutral (?) way…i think an eunuch also stood in the local body elections in pakistan….he/she either lost by a narrow margin….

{The Danger of Hindutva to Secular India

S. R. Welch

Vajpayee prefers to rationalize the killings, beatings, and church bombings as aberrations or “isolated events,” and fidgets away from any suggestion that blame should be laid at the feet of VHP or its militant affiliates, whose members have been clearly implicated in several cases. This is no surprise, as Vajpayee’s BJP (“Indian People’s Party”) is considered the parliamentary arm of the Hindutva movement.}

...vajpayee also “rationalized” reports of starvation and the selling of children for food in orissa as witnessed by indian reporters as “exaggerated for sensationalism”…

Reply DRUMZ #285

``The Satan issue is also critical.``

Well put. Could the Southpark movie cast light on this, do you think?

:-)

Speaking of definitions: God is the space between the electrons?

macgupta: That was a nice piece.

It seems that after a relative point in human communication, we begin blabbling-speaking on terms we do not/cannot understand etc...

This is likely why monism, vedanta hinduism (buddhism) and also Sufism in Islam are schools which try to show one the ineffable-speaking about it is almost impossible (and dangerous).

This field is tricky mainly because u have to rely mostly on SELF. Its a big and dangerous step to leave organized religion with the common folk and begin the actual search from within.

My personal opinion is that God is omnipotent and omnipresent (Just like the ELECTRON, for u athiest`s). In other words God is NETER or the ALL (thats how the egyptians described it). Beings like Allah, Krisna etc are entities with the ALL or brahma.

This is why Allah is called the ((Most)) High and is described as a ruling entity among angels (or demiGods for u Hindus). There are billions of entities which make up the all. Human beings are fairly weak, which is why we need GOD (from Gott or ``the invoked one`` in German). We invoke other entities to help us in our journey to elevate further UP in the all (wiccans/natives invoke the elements of fire/earth etc).

Im stuck over here. It seems that monastics work to become ``immune`` to our animal or LOWER self. Implying that there is a right and wrong path.

Why then is Brahma describe as being Good and Bad in the Vedas? (or why does the black + white = the yin yang symbol).

Perhaps there is no right and wrong? like I said, Ive been stuck here for months...

The Satan issue is also critical. His search for knowledge or his arrogance is what many believe caused Braham to create us. The ``purpose`` is also an issue which always has evaded me. My friend said that God created us for the same purpose that we procreate-to show another being the joy of this world. Bullsh1t?

Re:macgupta #270

(1)

``Science calls it energy. Vedanta calls it Brahman.``

Hey, I know energy. I guess so I know Brahman too. (Wow!)

(2)

I propose the wording on the 1st and 2nd laws of thermodynamics be altered thusly:

First law: The total number of Brahmans in the universe is a constant.

Second law: One cannot construct an office employing only Brahmans such that they do an equivalent amount of work.

;-)

soysauce;

Original? I think so, at least it was when I was writing it.

:-)

tahmed;

Ability to take a joke at ones own expense is the main factor. You definately have Sikh blood in you. Sorry!?!

;-)

What a convoluted world we live in!

Picture(ChelseaClinton in Hijab at Oxford antiUS protest)

November 18, 2001

Shame On You, Chelsea!

Where Do We Bomb Next, Alabama?

By Jonathan D Farley

Oxford`s ornately decorated town hall was brimming with people. So many people... All of them there to protest against the war in Afghanistan. Well, almost all of them.

On my way to the meeting, I had seen a group of students standing outside the hall, one of them draped in an American flag. I didn`t think much of them until they came in and sat behind me. There were several men and a few women in their group - Americans, judging by their accents. At the centre of attention was a smiling girl with curly brown locks. She looks a lot like Chelsea Clinton, I thought, but I wasn`t sure. Then the meeting began.

The 600-person crowd sat in rapt attention. But at one point, some of the Americans went to the front of the room with their flag, an apparent protest against peace: one of them tried to drown out the speakers by shouting. Embarrassed, I got up to move away from them. The heckling Americans, who were few in number, failed to derail the meeting, their jibes deftly countered by the speakers.

Chelsea, to her credit, remained silent throughout. But, according to recent interviews with CNN and Talk Magazine, she has now broken her silence. Chelsea has said that, because of anti-American and anti-war sentiment in England, she no longer wants to ``seek out non-Americans as friends``. Instead, she wants to ``be around Americans`` - by which she means, I presume, people who support America`s war against terror.

Shame on you, Chelsea. There are millions of people, every bit as American as you, who have every reason to question whether or not this is really a ``war for democracy``, a ``war against terror`` that will ``keep Americans safe``. I am speaking about the millions of us who are Americans of African descent, and the millions of others who oppose this

war.

While many black Americans felt wounded after the September 11 attacks - indeed, only one of the 38 blacks in Congress voted against giving Bush war powers - we`re far more circumspect than our white compatriots. Fully 20% of blacks opposed Bush`s response, compared to only 6% of whites (64% of blacks were in support, compared with 83% whites). As bombs fell, black opposition rose. We`re less enthusiastic about America`s wars in the developing world because we are aware, as has often been said, that no Iraqi ever called us nigger.

Don`t misunderstand me: many black Americans are remarkably patriotic. We`ve fought in all of America`s wars. But, 20 years after we helped liberate Nazi death camps, we still could not vote in our own country. When black Freedom Riders challenged America`s apartheid laws, they were firebombed and beaten. The police and FBI did not hunt down the ``evil-doers`` responsible for these crimes; indeed, more often than not they assisted them.

Mind you, just because the FBI broke the law in the 1960s does not mean that they`re wrong about Bin Laden. But we have every right to question US ``intelligence`` when the same FBI and CIA now chasing Bin Laden also once trained their sights on Martin Luther King and Malcolm X (when both men were shot, the first people to rush to their sides were undercover policemen who had infiltrated their entourage).

In a country that refuses to pay reparations for slavery, the FBI spent the equivalent of $500m to ``neutralise`` black leaders - with frightening success, as the mothers of Black Panther activists Fred Hampton and the exiled Assata Shakur can attest. (The former was killed in his sleep in a police raid in 1969, for which the government, admitting wrongdoing, was forced to pay $1.85m in damages.) White supremacist murders and police killings have claimed the lives of thousands of blacks - most famously in the Tulsa massacre of 1921 - and the prisons house nearly one million more.

So you see, Chelsea, African Americans are not much less safe now than we were before September 11. Even if we found out who was sending the anthrax tomorrow, innocent black males in LA and New York and Cincinnati would continue to have fatal allergic reactions to bullets fired by white cops.

Are blacks expected to line up to fight the Taliban? How can we, when one of our own senators (ex-Klansman Robert Byrd of West Virginia) once vowed that he would never fight ``with a negro by my side``, preferring instead to ``die a thousand times``? Even now, while our FBI is arresting anyone whose first name rhymes with Osama, the Klan is operating openly and legally in all 50 states. Next time you`re in Tennessee, Chelsea, come visit Nathan Bedford Forrest Park, named after the founder of America`s al-Qaida, the KKK.

Absurdly, we`re supposed to breathe a sigh of relief now that we think the anthrax was sent, not by Arabs, but by white supremacists. But why were black postal workers treated a week after the whites on Capitol Hill? Has US attorney general John Ashcroft detained 1,000 Christians without charge? Is everyone with links to Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh now under surveillance? And what terrorist-harbouring state will be bombed next - Alabama?

The charge has been laid that the left predicted a long war. ``Look how they got it wrong, big-time!`` as Dick Cheney might say. But this phase of the war - the massacres, continued bombing, the infighting as returning warlords reassert themselves - is far from over, let alone what is likely to happen once Bush turns his attention to Iraq. The irony is that it was the right, especially the military, which expected the Taliban regime to hold out. Last month, Donald Rumsfeld predicted that the war in Afghanistan would take ``years, not weeks or months``.

So the real question is: how could the military and the CIA have got it so wrong? After all, we`re paying them $300bn a year to (a) predict the fall of the Berlin wall, (b) predict the invasion of Kuwait, (c) not bomb Chinese embassies when we`re not at war with China, (d) not train and fund Osama bin Laden when he will later use our own weapons against us. Maybe we deserve to be laughed at, left and right, for giving the military and CIA so much money, when they`ve done such a hopeless job.

So, Chelsea, please do not corral all Americans into the pro-war camp. The stars and stripes your friend draped across his back remind too many of us of the bloody stripes that once laced our own. One of Bill Clinton`s redeeming traits is the fact that, when he studied at Oxford, he opposed America`s war. Maybe sometime, Chelsea, you will too.

Professor Jonathan Farley is a math professor at Vanderbilt University and visiting distinguished scholar at Oxford University. He is running for Congress in Tennessee as a Green candidate in 2002. This column originally appeared in The Guardian of London.

WRONG PLANE

Nearly three years ago, it was a B&#& that landed in kandhahar with some pakistanis from indian prisons. Today it is a military plane. May be, just may be, it would have been a different story, if the earlier one was a military one. The jihadists may not have done the WTC job with out the help from the indian prison escapees. The laws of india should be amended to deal with the foreigners. Idiots of delhi will not do it.

New Delhi’s first flight takes off for Mission Kabul

EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 21: In the first dry run for New Delhi’s return to Kabul five years after it shut down its mission in Afghanistan, an Indian Air Force IL-76 landed at the Bagram airbase this morning. India is the second country after Iran to try and head back to Kabul after the ouster of the Taliban regime.