Barsana Dham

The last Saturday's Austin American Statesman featured a full-page article on Barsaha Dham of Austin.

The organization said it donates millions of dollars to charity, much of it to Indian hospitals, including two it built and operates. Its umbrella organization, Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat, recently announced that it was building a university in India and had donated $448,000 to assist flood victims in India. Barsana Dham took in evacuees from Hurricane Ike.

Good to know that they are doing a lot of charity work. As I wrote before, Barsana Dham is a beautiful place, has a gorgeous interior (esp. the ceiling resembling the sky), and is filled with nice people who don't push visitors to join the organization or donate money. Also, they serve delicious lunch/prasad on Sundays!

But I just don't get the concept of Swamijis. I find it really odd when humans start behaving like they are Gods.  I feel that these Swamijis are not immune to human frailties.  Given the favorable conditions, their weaknesses probably are subdued; for the same reason why a normal person wouldn't feel compelled to steal a loaf of bread. On one side, they keep implying that they are merely mortal God's dogs.  At the same time, when people treat them like deities, they don't seem to object too much.  

In India, a decent number of sanyasis don't seem to care about their chassis (bodies), let their beard and hair grow wildly, while they are working on cleaning their engine (i.e., purifying heart).  I mean, I came across a few people who were living way more modestly when compared to the means available to them. 

In few swamijis I came across in the US (not sure if this is a representative sample), I failed to notice any signs of renunciation. They maintain well-manicured beards, wear expensive silk garments, and allow gold rings to adorn their fingers.  It is like sticking to diet coke (i.e., preaching) while consuming cheese cake and pizza as staple diet (i.e., practice)!

Anyway, like our good friend Harini rightly says (and I agree with), the bottom line is, they are helping the the poor and speaking kind words, and we should respect them for that.

Photo: Sadhu Soccer by Phronesisaical

Suspended Chronimation

Picture source: Epotpourri

Why do analog watches/clocks typically show a time of ten past ten in their commercials? According to Snopes, it is not because Lincoln or Kennedy was shot at that time; they didn't receive their lead injections around 10:10.   

A couple of (reasonable) reasons I came across are: (1) As Snopes said, the businesses typically display their logos right below 12 (XII). When an analog watch/clock shows 10:10, the name of the business will be wedged between the hands of the clock, drawing consumers' attention to it. (2) 10:10 shows the shape of a smiley face, imprinting a positive image on the viewers. Fishing lures come in all shapes and sizes!

Photo source: Wide-Eyed Designs

“Enemy fighters at two o'clock!
Roger. What should I do until then?”

The Empire Strikes Back

Microsoft (MS) recently started airing a new "I am a PC" commercial on TV (see the second 1-minute video below).  I was wondering about the message it was trying to convey through this ad.  To begin with, looks like Mr. Bill Gates (or his mob) was ticked off by Apple's ads, like the one on Vista OS (see the 30-second video below).  But shouldn't a counter ad be based on some content? Apple claims that their machines are powerful and simple.  One would think that MS would attempt to dispute that.

But the new ad appears to be focused on one thing - Most of the world (including many celebrities) uses PC, therefore, it has to be good.  Well, a few centuries ago, the church used similar logic with its geocentric doctrine!  Secondly, with its $300 million ad campaign, MS is thumping its chest gloating its size.  Again, Goliath was in this boat before:-) 

Fulton's Law of Gravity

Cartoon Source: APS Physics

Recent events started drilling in the law-law land of my brain, and began extracting all the simple laws of nature discovered by the people who assert that Murphy was an optimist! Apparently necessary band-aid bailouts, and investor's response to these measures reminded me of Fulton's Law of Gravity.

The effort to catch a falling, breakable object will produce more destruction than if the object had been allowed to fall in the first place.

Pot Calling the Kettle Black

Caricature source: Small Room

Here is something for Pravda's humor section! Dick Cheney on Russia's involvement in Georgia:-)

That is no way for a responsible power to conduct itself

Vique's Law

A man without religion is like a fish without bicycle - Vique's Law

Picture: Basscycle by Holly Berry

Boloji says,

...it may be worthwhile to analyze why and how an unorganized religion like Hinduism could survive all these thousands of years. The simple answer is because it was never organized. If religion is for realization of God, then organized religion is definitely an oxymoron which can never succeed in practice. Leave it unorganized and Hinduism shall always remain a Sanatana Dharma with no beginning and no end. All that is required is physical protection for the followers but never the faith as such.

These are pretty much my thoughts too. Once we start religious franchises, the absolute power will start corrupting absolutely.

The Best Card Trick in the World

The following video had over 10 million hits!  Though I smelled a rat on that Hindu Shuffle that I used to use while I was a kid, I couldn't figure this magic out.  The next video (below) shows how this magic was done.  But before you watch it, I suggest that you observe the trick a couple of times, and try to figure it out by yourself.  Enjoy! 

And, here is the spoiler.  This is the negative (albeit small) aspect of internet boom.  With the world at our finger tips, nothing surprises us any more.  Those great feelings of sense of wonder and awe are being eroded faster than the polar ice caps. 

Yikes!

Hurricane Ike is closing in on Texas, and stands poised to become one of the most damaging hurricanes of all time. Despite Ike's rated Category 2 strength, the hurricane is much larger and more powerful than Category 5 Katrina or Category 5 Rita. The storm surge from Ike could rival Katrina's, inundating a 200-mile stretch of coast from Galveston to Cameron, Louisiana with waters over 15 feet high. This massive storm surge is due to the exceptional size of Ike. According to the latest wind field estimate (Figure 1), the diameter of Ike's tropical storm and hurricane force winds are 550 and 240 miles, respectively. For comparison, Katrina numbers at landfall were 440 and 210 miles, respectively. As I discussed in yesterday's blog entry, a good measure of the storm surge potential is Integrated Kinetic Energy (IKE). Ike continues to grow larger and has intensified slightly since yesterday, and the hurricane's Integrated Kinetic Energy has increased from 134 to 149 Terajoules. This is 30% higher than Katrina's total energy at landfall. All this extra energy has gone into piling up a vast storm surge that will probably be higher than anything in recorded history along the Texas coast. Storm surge heights of 20-25 feet are possible from Galveston northwards to the Louisiana border. The Texas storm surge record is held by Hurricane Carla of 1961. Carla was a Category 4 hurricane with 145 mph winds at landfall, and drove a 10 foot or higher storm surge to a 180-mile stretch of Texas coast. A maximum storm surge of 22 feet was recorded at Port Lavaca, Texas.

Looks like I am working this weekend, and I hope that this is not a precursor for our predicted doom (which I don't subscribe to).

Denigration of Hinduism - Part Trois

This in response to Shree Shirodkar's comments on my earlier blog post Denigration of Hinduism.

Comment 1: Is it not our responsibility to help educate society about the sacred concepts and dispel misconceptions as propagated by such crudeness on Hinduism? Here the so-called humor is about something held sacred in our Holy Scriptures.

Response 1.  To begin with, I did not see this picture as "crude".  I see a case if Lord Krishna is shown as emulating Obama, not the other way around.  They did not alter Lord Krishna's idol/picture in any way.  Also, it is not a revulsive picture.

I do believe that we need to attempt to dispel misconceptions.  So far, I have not seen convincing evidence that Ramayana and Mahabharata have actually happened.  My belief in God based on gut feeling can be a misconception.  It would be inconsistent if we hold on to the misconceptions that we revere, and loathe the rest.  Also, whether we dress like Him or not, isn't Lord Krishna present in every atom of the universe? When that is the case, where is the possibility for crudeness? I mean, if you say (1) God is not crude and (2) God is every where, don't (1) and (2) together imply that there is no crudeness in the universe?

Comment 2: Amazing to learn that one can "loved the image". What was so inspiring about it dear Gopa?

Answer 2: I didn’t see any inspiration in it, dear Shirodkar ji. I “loved” the colors, artfulness, and creativity.

Comment 3: Wonder why TOI chose to publish such a crude picture?

Answer 3: Probably because they thought that it was catchy and funny. I don’t think they meant to insult Hindus. Even if they did, I don’t think their action would warrant us to issue Fatwa on TOI.  Everyone will pay for their actions (and inactions when an action is expected) eventually.

Comment 4: Think it is not correct to consider yourself as a murderer in this case, it was his time that he had to go.

Answer 4: I did not consider myself a murderer. My expression was akin to a rhetorical question. You are right. There is no murder involved, and we both are on the same page on this.

Comment 5:  Again after studying your case B,"historic buried treasure" means money I take it. Luxurious life with money, yes but one cannot claim that he/she was happy for 50 years. Money can buy things but not happiness or health or bliss. You neither accumulated negative or positive karma by fetching him treasure.

Answer 5: I think you missed the main point I was trying to drive in. In case B, I tried to kill somebody. But that attempt ended up benefiting him. The intent of this example was to express my opinion on the net karmic impression that I would accumulate due to the chain of events initiated by me.

I disagree with you on the net result. I believe that I would accumulate negative karma in this case, as I performed karma with wickedness in my heart. If this action won’t result in prarabdha, which kind actions would?

Now, I believe that to an extent, money does bring happiness. But the happiness starts to plateau after accumulating certain wealth, for most of the people, I think. People who say “money can’t buy happiness” are those who already acquired enough money that would ensure food and shelter in their foreseeable future. I am yet to hear “money can’t buy happiness” from a person who involuntarily starved (like a beggar) for a few days. We need some money to take care of basic needs and offer us some level of security in the immediate future. But, I think it would hurt us, if we go crazy about money, start growing ulcers, and keep losing sleep over it.

Comment 6: Lord Krushna and his principals are way above than human created legal context aren't they?

Answer 6: Yes. Also, Lord Krishna probably will not lose sleep because TOI dressed up Obama to look like Him, in a picture.

Comment 7: As you correctly said that the energy controlling this universe knows a lot better. Do we know what energy we are referring to?

Answer 7: I was referring to Shakti, the intelligent designer, who we probably cannot comprehend with our senses.

General Comment: I thank you for your time and patient audience, and hope that these points will help develop a mutual understanding between your blog and those who have taken the time to protest the denigration for this picture.

Answer 8: I too thank you for your detailed comment, Shirodkar ji. Please understand that I am trying to be honest to myself, and to you.  I talked straight without sugar-coating my opinions.  It is not my intent to be disrespectful. If I came across that way, I apologize.

Denigration of Hinduism - Part Deux

In May 2008, I blogged my opinion on Times of India’s publication of a picture of Obama-Clinton dressed as Radha and Lord Krishna. Shree Nilesh Shirodkar has kindly taken his time to express his opinion on this blog post. As he expressed his interest in sharing his opinion with the readers of this blog, I posted his verbatim comments below. Dear Shirodkar Ji, Thanks for your comments. I will respond to your comments in a few days. For now, I highlighted the comments that I intend to address.

Namaskar dear Shree Gopa

I recently happened to read your response on your blog to the Clinton and Obama image in TOI.

Since I am a Hindu concerned by the denigration of Hindu sacred concepts in this picture, I request your audience for the below points. Through them, it is my humble attempt to explain why it is important for us to do something about some denigration which comes across like a crude and rude depiction.

Is it not our responsibility to help educate society about the sacred concepts and dispel misconceptions as propagated by such crudeness on Hinduism? Here the so-called humor is about something held sacred in our Holy Scriptures

Does any of our Scriptures sanction joking about the sacred? Today, what little faith and following Hindus have in Hinduism is a result of our ancestors teaching us by example its importance through revering the various Hindu Holy practices and concepts. If we not only turn a blind eye towards such denigration of Hindu sacred concepts, but also encourage each other to laugh along, what ideals will it set for our future generations? Can we expect our future generations, growing up under an increasingly materialistic, non-Hindu influence, to hold those Hindu concepts sacred in that case? The biggest danger I see of condoning this issue, especially when our opinion was sought after from a Hindu, is the precedent it sets for far more denigrating pictures or movies on Hinduism in future, as being ‘ok by Hindus’.

Before a person can be expected to stand up for the cause of Hinduism, he will need to have sufficient pride and feeling for the cause, which will come only after some education about the cause. As representatives from Hindu organizations, is it not our responsibility to help educate our Hindu community about the sacred concepts and dispel misconceptions as propagated by such picture in widely distributed news paper.

Amazing to learn that one can "loved the image". What was so inspiring about it dear Gopa?

Although the Hindu dharma is known to be tolerant, we should not also make it known to be coward too. Wonder why TOI chose to publish such a crude picture?

Analyzing your case studies
Case A:

Think it is not correct to consider yourself as a murderer in this case, it was his time that he had to go. You attempted to pull him away from death but he died anyway. Your effort was admirable from a your view point, however he was destined to die that moment. Thus you will neither acquire negative or positive karma. You were negligible there in that situation.


Case B: Again after studying your case B,"historic buried treasure" means money I take it. Luxurious life with money, yes but one cannot claim that he/she was happy for 50 years. Money can buy things but not happiness or health or bliss.

you neither accumulated negative or positive karma by fetching him treasure.

As you correctly said that the energy controlling this universe knows a lot better. Do we know what energy we are referring to?

Lord Krushna and his principals are way above than human created legal context aren't they?

Makes me wonder when one Hindu speaks about denigration, immediately several Hindu roar that its being fanaticism. Let alone other religions.

Dear Shree Gopa its not about going crazy over a picture published by a newspaper, its about your faith and my faith and faith or our children's and generations to come.

I thank you for your time and patient audience, and hope that these points will help develop a mutual understanding between your blog and those who have taken the time to protest the denigration for this picture.

Sincerely,

Nilesh Shirodkar

Dharmo rakshati rakshitaha

Gol Body Toll

In Alabama, obese government employees will be required to pay more for their medical insurance. Makes sense. Risky car drivers pay more insurance premiums as their driving habits will likely result in an insurance claim. We pay more home owners insurance for living in a 100-year flood zone, or for being far away from a fire hydrant. Similarly, risky borrowers pay more interest on loans.

So, why not apply the same logic for health insurance? More risk = more cost. Some argue that it would be an unfair practice, as some are genetically predisposed to growing big. I feel that only a small % of people will fall into this category, and case-by-case exceptions can be made in those situations. But most of the time, we are big simply because we eat more than we need.

The government tried health initiatives, the carrots (literally and figuratively!), and they didn't work. So, stick is the way to go now! Money is an effective motivational tool. We don't take serious things seriously, until they start hurting our pockets.

I see weight-loss commercials on TV with models who lost 250 pounds on diets! Good for them. But what bothers me is, even with all that loss, they are typically 50 pounds heavier than normal-sized people! So, we obviously will feel good about ourselves, and splurge, as we see some room for growth! It sounds silly, but over-acceptance of human weaknesses can be bad. We just can't underestimate our capability for doing stupid things (like wars) when they are widely accepted as way of life.

A good example of dividents due to strong negative perception of a nasty habit is, reduction of smoking in the USA. It is great to see so many strong-willed people (who were weak-willed when the started the habit, of course) managed to break themselves free from this highly addictive habit. Smoking is not macho any more. I remember while at UNO, one of our Deans came to the office in a wheel chair, dressed as sick Joe Camel and it made a big impact on a couple of my smoker friends.

The Terminator

I watched the last few minutes of Senator McCain's speech yesterday. 

“I’m going to fight for my cause every day as your President. ..." “Fight for what’s right for our country. Fight for the ideals and character of a free people. Fight for our children’s future. Fight for justice and opportunity for all.” “Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight..."

Can't he use non-threatening words like "strive" instead of "fight"? I think he did so partly because that is the kind of language that his target audience want to hear. Also, I think Hanoi Hilton's hospitality induced belligerence (esp. towards less fortunate foreigners) deeply into his system.  

There is talk of energy independence (for national security) every day. I understand if it is done for economic benefit.  But I feel that there is secret mistrust of foreigners (who are publicly recognized as, allies) in the people who sit on the right side of the isle.  What ever happened to all those teachings on interdependence? We can't expect rest of the world to love us, when we don't trust them. It is as simple as that.

Wearble Motorcycle

In the US, cars are most often used for hauling (unfortunately) just one person. Though these cars have come a long way in efficiency, only about 4% of the energy consumed is used for hauling the passenger, while the machine uses 96% of the energy for hauling itself; about 3,500 lbs of metal and plastic for moving a 150-lb person!

Hopefully, machines like the following wearable motorcycle will give us the comfort of climate-controlled enclosure at a two-wheeler fuel efficiency, in the near future. It appears pretty neat, but looks like watching traffic in the rear will be a pain in the same:-)

While looking at this machine, got curious about the fuel efficiency of Jumbo Jets. On a quick and dirty back-of-the-envelope calculation, noticed that in spite of hauling large amounts of fuel, these air crafts are comparable* in efficiency to cars; about 8% of energy is used for hauling passengers, while 92% of energy is used for hauling the plane and fuel. Even though planes appear to be energy efficient (due lesser friction and thinner air, I imagine) when compared to cars, we need to factor-in the energy costs of maintaining airports and ground crew.

Quick estimates

Weight of Boeing 747-100: 395,000 lbs

Volume of Jet Fuel: 57,285 gals

Average specific gravity of jet fuel: 0.75

Weight of the fuel: 57,285 gals x 8.34 lbs/gallon (water) x 0.75 = about 358,000 lbs

Weight of passengers: 416 passengers x 140 lb/passenger = about 58,240 lbs

% of fuel used for hauling passengers: 58240/(358000+395000)= about 8%

Weight of luggage: 416 passengers x 50 lbs/passenger = 20,800 lbs (not included in calculation)

The Best Curves in America

No wonder the Wave is the Shangri-la for extreme hikers: This natural rock formation in Arizona, part of the Coyote Buttes area, offers a matchless panorama of undulating sandstone.

Top elevation is 5,200 feet, but the area offers lots to admire underfoot as well -- the prints of Jurassic-age dinosaurs can be spotted in the fragile earth. To preserve this place of wonder, only 20 hiking passes are issued daily. Want to explore this rocky road yourself? Carry lots of water, wear rubber soles, and prepare to trek three miles in.

Then feast your eyes.