He had no servants,
yet they called HIM Master;
He had no degrees,
yet they called HIM Teacher;
He had no medicine,
yet they called HIM Healer;
He had no army,
yet the Kings feared HIM;
He won no military battles,
yet HE conquered the world;
He committed no crime,
yet they crucified HIM;
He was buried in a tomb,
yet HE LIVES Today!
Monday, April 05, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Even the Blind can see now
Wow this is sensational news! Technology is enabling the blind to see now. This is something akin to Star Trek: The Next Generation's blind character Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge who can see with special glasses called the VISOR which enable him to see clearly. Of course this is far off but still a possible reality.
I remember asking mom after seeing a blind old woman with those thick black glasses, "Do those glasses help her to see?", my mom thought it was a ridiculous assumption at that time.
Original news item!
BrainPort Allows Blind Man to See With His Tongue
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/BrainPort-blindness,news-6164.html
What Today's Tech looks like!
What Tommorrow could look like
I remember asking mom after seeing a blind old woman with those thick black glasses, "Do those glasses help her to see?", my mom thought it was a ridiculous assumption at that time.
Original news item!
BrainPort Allows Blind Man to See With His Tongue
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/BrainPort-blindness,news-6164.html
What Today's Tech looks like!
What Tommorrow could look like
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Mumbai Facts
Interesting Facts....
Mumbai makes us proud and here are reason for people who need them
Mumbai singlehandedly handles about 25% of the domestic and 38% of the international air passenger traffic in the country. Mumbai's suburban rail systems carry a total of 2.2 billion passengers every year. Incidentally, the world's population is 6 billion.
Mumbai's literacy rate is 85.6% (female: 82.7%, male: 90%) compared with India's overall literacy of 65.4%.
Mumbai's per capita income is Rs 48,954. This is almost three times the national average!
At the end of financial year 2002-03, Mumbai paid Rs 28,000 crore in taxes, 35% of India's collection of Rs 82,000 crore!
The original Walkeshwar Temple was destroyed by the Portuguese, but was rebuilt by Rama Kamath in 1715.
Bombay University was founded in 1857 at the Town Hall, and was shifted to the new complex near Oval Maidan in 1874.
The Elphinstone College was originally built for the Government Central Press at a cost of Rs 7.5 lakh.
The city's first church - the St Thomas Cathedral - was built at Horniman Circle in 1718.
The first post office in Bombay was opened in 1832 at the residence of the junior magistrate of police at Byculla.
The Stearns & Kittredge company was given permission in 1874 to start Bombay's first tram service with a fleet of 900 horses.
The East India Company appointed Sir George Oxenden the first governor of Bombay in 1668.
Until 1864, the city's highest ranking police officer was called Police Chief. Post 1864, the title was changed to Police Commissioner.
The Hanging Gardens at Malabar Hill was built over three reservoirs which can store up to 300 lakh gallons of water.
The first inter-city railway was built between Bombay and Surat, and was completed in 1864.
The Great Indian Peninsular Railway laid the first rail tracks in India between Thane and Bombay.
It took 60 years to merge the seven islands of Bombay into one landmass between 1784 and 1845.
Bombay's highest population growth rate was between 1661 and 1675 when it rose six times from 10,000 to 60,000.
The 2nd governor of Bombay, Gerald Aungier, was behind its development into a major centre of commerce.
The name Bombay was derived from Bom Bahia (The Good Bay), a name given by Portuguese sailor Francis Almeida, in 1508.
When a person travel towards Mumbai,one can see milestone stating Mumbai 35 Kms, but where is Mumbai Zero Kms, it is at Flora Fountain.
The railway tracks of the Churchgate Station originally extended beyond Azad Maidan in the direction of Afghan Church, which was later changed to a tar road.
Former English cricket captain Douglas Jardine of Bodyline fame was born in Malabar Hill, Mumbai, in 1900.
India's first cricket club, Orient, was founded in Bombay in 1848.
Mumbai orginally was a cluster of seven separate islands, and the southernmost island was called Old Woman's Island.
Nobel Laureate Rudyard Kipling who wrote Kim and The Jungle Book was born in Mumbai.
There are 14 platforms inside the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, earlier called Victoria Terminus.
Mumbai's first ever meteorological observatory was built in Colaba in 1826.
The wooden pole in the centre of the Banganga Tank in Mumbai signifies the centre of the earth. Legend has it that Lord Ram created the tank by piercing the earth with his arrow.
The Lumiere brothers introduced Motion Pictures to India with six soundless short films at Bombay's Watson's Hotel in 1896.
There is an original portrait of former US President Abraham Lincoln at the Prince of Wales Museum.
Lord Elphinstone performed the opening ceremony after railway tracks were laid between Bombay and Thane in 1853.
The railway line from Mumbai to Pune through Bhor Ghat was built by a woman named Alice Tredwell in 1863.
The Quit India Movement was launched by Gandhiji in Mumbai in 1942 from Gowalia Tank. It is now called August Kranti Maidan.
Mumbai industrialist Jamshetji Tata was the first Indian to own a car.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Batman & Robin - The Kiss
You just gotta love MAD mag...LOL
Click to view larger size
From the Indian Issue of MAD Magazine Issue No 14.
Click to view larger size
From the Indian Issue of MAD Magazine Issue No 14.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Lifecycle of a videogame addict
LOL, this is something every gamer should read...Hilarious...heheh. Now to get back to my Dragon Age: Origins game...must save the princess from those Ogres!!!!!Aaarrrggghh!!!!
GameSpy: Life Cycle of a Videogame Franchise Addict
GameSpy: Life Cycle of a Videogame Franchise Addict
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Funny Error - Adobe Reader
Here's a real funny error that PDF Reader gave when I'm not sure what I was doing, but apparently Adobe Reader was quite upset at that there was no "dict object" present...whatever that means!
Yoga-Man by Fali Singara
My extremely innovative friend Fali Singara has made a parody comic on me using the wonderful Pixton.com website. Head over there if you too always wanted to make comics without the need to know drawing, etc.
YOGA-MAN™ BY SINGARA के द्वारा Singara
Click on the image for larger view
YOGA-MAN™ BY SINGARA के द्वारा Singara
Click on the image for larger view
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Good Quote
Good Quote to remind ourselves
There is nothing Good or Bad, it is all about Choices ........ So choose wisely.
Don't believe all that you hear and don't say all that you think.
Learn to listen. It is an art.
Not knowing something is normally a milestone on the way to Knowledge.
Regards,
Nikhil
There is nothing Good or Bad, it is all about Choices ........ So choose wisely.
Don't believe all that you hear and don't say all that you think.
Learn to listen. It is an art.
Not knowing something is normally a milestone on the way to Knowledge.
Regards,
Nikhil
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
"Why you don't need 5 crores to retire"
A very interesting blogpost regarding how and what to factor in when planning on retirement taking Indian scenario. Of course it isn't comprehensive but yet manages to inform one well and keep worries at bay especially those caused by financial planners today.
Why you don't need 5 crores to retire
http://processmashup.blogspot.com/2009/08/self-explaining-and-forgiving-roads.html
Why you don't need 5 crores to retire
http://processmashup.blogspot.com/2009/08/self-explaining-and-forgiving-roads.html
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
That's not a cat that's a lemur!
This is a story of how we got conned into getting a lemur instead of a cat.. Don't believe, read on, the horror!
At first we got a new shrink wrapped sweet kitty. The freshest piece from the store too!
When we opened, definitely it was the sweetiest, most charming kitty we'd ever seen.
So Adorable!
Just the perfect little Kitty we thought!
But then when it started to grow up, something strange started to happen. Our sweet kitty turned more and more into a something else!
How can that be? See for yourself. (I've included comparison photos because it is so unbelievable)
But before you scroll down, this is a formal warning, Viewer discretion it advised.
Evidence No.1
Evidence No.2
Evidence No.3
Evidence No.4
Evidence No.5
Evidence No.6
Evidence No.7
As you can see the obvious similarities and intelligently judge for yourself that, what we have is not a cat but a lemur! In fact it is much worse, it neither belongs to the cat species nor the lemur species, it is infact a cross between a cat and a lemur, A Catmur!
The evidence is simply overwhelming! I dug further as to this unnatural occurrence. Why did such a thing happen? Why, oh why did God allow this?
That is when I found the photo of her mother, which explained it all!
Please Note: - No Lemurs, cats or catmeurs were hurt when making this. Well except my sister's ego.
At first we got a new shrink wrapped sweet kitty. The freshest piece from the store too!
When we opened, definitely it was the sweetiest, most charming kitty we'd ever seen.
So Adorable!
Just the perfect little Kitty we thought!
But then when it started to grow up, something strange started to happen. Our sweet kitty turned more and more into a something else!
How can that be? See for yourself. (I've included comparison photos because it is so unbelievable)
Evidence No.1
Evidence No.2
Evidence No.3
Evidence No.4
Evidence No.5
Evidence No.6
Evidence No.7
As you can see the obvious similarities and intelligently judge for yourself that, what we have is not a cat but a lemur! In fact it is much worse, it neither belongs to the cat species nor the lemur species, it is infact a cross between a cat and a lemur, A Catmur!
The evidence is simply overwhelming! I dug further as to this unnatural occurrence. Why did such a thing happen? Why, oh why did God allow this?
That is when I found the photo of her mother, which explained it all!
Please Note: - No Lemurs, cats or catmeurs were hurt when making this. Well except my sister's ego.
Past Life Analysis
http://www.thebigview.com/pastlife/
Monday, October 19, 2009
An Island Of Peace
AN ISLAND OF PEACE
I would like to tell you a story that will help you to understand better the practice of taking refuge in the island of self. About 30 years ago, I was practising and living in the northern part of France and there was a hermitage called “Les Patates Douces” and I went to a solo retreat in that hermitage, and that morning, it was beautiful, and I decided to spend the whole day in the wood. The hermitage was situated in a kind of forest called “La foret d’Othe” and I like to do walking meditation and sitting meditation in a wood, so that morning, I decided to spend the whole day in the wood.
I brought with me a bowl of rice, some sesame seeds, a bottle of water, and off I went to the forest and wanted to stay the whole day there. I enjoyed it very much, but at about 3 o’clock in the afternoon black clouds began to gather and I knew that I could not stay longer in the wood, that I had to go home to the hermitage. Before I left the hermitage I had opened the door and all the windows so that the sunshine could come in, and now the wind had begun to blow and I knew that I have to stop my stay in the wood and go home to the hermitage to take care of it. When I arrived at the hermitage, I found the situation not pleasant at all. The wind had blown very hard, and all the papers I put on my table were blown a little bit everywhere, and then it’s cold, it’s miserable in the hermitage, cold and dark and disorder, it’s a mess!
The first thing I did was to go and close all the windows because I didn’t want the wind to continue its work of destruction, so I closed the windows and I also closed the door. And then I made a fire in the chimney and when the fire began to come alive, I began to collect all the sheets of paper on the ground and put them on the table and then took the little brick I had to put on it, and tried to make the hermitage tidy, in order. By that time, the chimney was very pleasant already. By that time it was warm, it was pleasant, it was cosy in the hermitage.
There are days when you feel that it’s not your day, everything goes wrong. And the more effort you make, the situation becomes worse. Of course you have gone through days like that in your life. You fail in everything, you suffer, you get angry, people blame you, you are not happy, you are frustrated. And you tell yourself that you have to make more effort, but the more effort you make, the worse the situation becomes, and then you know that it’s time to stop, it’s time to stop everything, it’s time to go home to yourself and take refuge in yourself. You have to close your windows, the eyes, the ears; you have to close the five windows.
You should not be in touch with the outside any more; you have to close the windows of your hermitage. Because there is a hermitage within yourself – that is the island of self that I want you to discover. If you continue to be on the outside, then you continue to suffer, you know. That is why in moments like that, you have to go home to the island of self, and the first thing you do is exactly what I did with my hermitage, to close the five windows.
And you know that eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind, are the six windows you close. Don’t look, don’t listen, don’t touch, and don’t think. Stop everything in order to prevent the strong wind from the outside to continue to blow in and to make you miserable, because the eye is a window, the ear is a window, the mind is a window, and if you keep them open, the wind of suffering, the wind of disturbance will continue to come and make the situation worse and worse. Don’t try any more. Stop trying and shut the windows. You shut also the door, and you have to go to the chimney and make a fire.
You want to get a feeling of warmth, cosiness, and comfort by practising mindful breathing, going home to yourself. And rearrange everything, your feelings, your perceptions, your emotions, they are all scattered all over, it’s a mess.
You have to recognise each feeling, each emotion, and you have to collect them like I collected all the sheets of paper that were scattered a little bit all over. Practise mindfulness and concentration, and tidy up everything within yourself. You are going home, you have gone home to your island of self, and you are transformed into a place that is cosy and pleasant for you to take refuge in. Everyone has a hermitage within, very safe, very cosy, very comfortable, very calm, and they have to go home to that hermitage.
The expression that the Buddha used is “dípá atta dípá saraná.” “Atta” means self, “dípá” means island, and “saraná” means refuge. “Taking refuge in the island of self.” This is the dharma talk that the Buddha gave when he was 80 to many groups of friends and disciples. If you rely on the outside, you get lost. That is why you have to go home and rely on something that is reliable, that is the island of self.
There are many ways to go home to the island of self. One of the ways is to practise mindful breathing and concentrate on your breath. You will discover the island of self. The other way is to do walking meditation. Every step brings you home to the here and the now, and then you can open the door of the island of self and go into it. We remember the teaching of the Buddha when we are tired, when we feel that we are not solid, we feel we are victims of the environment and victims of our emotions, and then what we should do is to go home right away, to the hermitage, to the island of self.
And with the practice, we will discover that is the safest place to go back to. And after some time being in the island of self, in the hermitage of self, you recover yourself and then you are in a much better position to get in touch with the world outside. And Thay has said that it takes time, it takes practice in order to recognise, to find our island of self, because the island of self is not exactly in the body.
When we say inside, that does not mean exactly inside the body, it is not really located in the body. We have a better chance to find it in the dharma body than in the physical body. And everyone has that island. No waves can reach that island, so standing on the island, we are very safe, we recover ourselves, restore ourselves, become strong, and then we are ready to go out again, to help. And so even if you are still very young, you know that there is an island within yourself.
Every time you feel you suffer so much, nothing seems to go right, you have to stop making efforts, you have to go home to that island right away. And taking refuge in the island for five, ten, fifteen minutes, half an hour, you know that you feel stronger, much better within yourself.
THICH NHAT HANH
www.plumvillage.org
Author of " Old Path White Clouds"
I would like to tell you a story that will help you to understand better the practice of taking refuge in the island of self. About 30 years ago, I was practising and living in the northern part of France and there was a hermitage called “Les Patates Douces” and I went to a solo retreat in that hermitage, and that morning, it was beautiful, and I decided to spend the whole day in the wood. The hermitage was situated in a kind of forest called “La foret d’Othe” and I like to do walking meditation and sitting meditation in a wood, so that morning, I decided to spend the whole day in the wood.
I brought with me a bowl of rice, some sesame seeds, a bottle of water, and off I went to the forest and wanted to stay the whole day there. I enjoyed it very much, but at about 3 o’clock in the afternoon black clouds began to gather and I knew that I could not stay longer in the wood, that I had to go home to the hermitage. Before I left the hermitage I had opened the door and all the windows so that the sunshine could come in, and now the wind had begun to blow and I knew that I have to stop my stay in the wood and go home to the hermitage to take care of it. When I arrived at the hermitage, I found the situation not pleasant at all. The wind had blown very hard, and all the papers I put on my table were blown a little bit everywhere, and then it’s cold, it’s miserable in the hermitage, cold and dark and disorder, it’s a mess!
The first thing I did was to go and close all the windows because I didn’t want the wind to continue its work of destruction, so I closed the windows and I also closed the door. And then I made a fire in the chimney and when the fire began to come alive, I began to collect all the sheets of paper on the ground and put them on the table and then took the little brick I had to put on it, and tried to make the hermitage tidy, in order. By that time, the chimney was very pleasant already. By that time it was warm, it was pleasant, it was cosy in the hermitage.
There are days when you feel that it’s not your day, everything goes wrong. And the more effort you make, the situation becomes worse. Of course you have gone through days like that in your life. You fail in everything, you suffer, you get angry, people blame you, you are not happy, you are frustrated. And you tell yourself that you have to make more effort, but the more effort you make, the worse the situation becomes, and then you know that it’s time to stop, it’s time to stop everything, it’s time to go home to yourself and take refuge in yourself. You have to close your windows, the eyes, the ears; you have to close the five windows.
You should not be in touch with the outside any more; you have to close the windows of your hermitage. Because there is a hermitage within yourself – that is the island of self that I want you to discover. If you continue to be on the outside, then you continue to suffer, you know. That is why in moments like that, you have to go home to the island of self, and the first thing you do is exactly what I did with my hermitage, to close the five windows.
And you know that eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind, are the six windows you close. Don’t look, don’t listen, don’t touch, and don’t think. Stop everything in order to prevent the strong wind from the outside to continue to blow in and to make you miserable, because the eye is a window, the ear is a window, the mind is a window, and if you keep them open, the wind of suffering, the wind of disturbance will continue to come and make the situation worse and worse. Don’t try any more. Stop trying and shut the windows. You shut also the door, and you have to go to the chimney and make a fire.
You want to get a feeling of warmth, cosiness, and comfort by practising mindful breathing, going home to yourself. And rearrange everything, your feelings, your perceptions, your emotions, they are all scattered all over, it’s a mess.
You have to recognise each feeling, each emotion, and you have to collect them like I collected all the sheets of paper that were scattered a little bit all over. Practise mindfulness and concentration, and tidy up everything within yourself. You are going home, you have gone home to your island of self, and you are transformed into a place that is cosy and pleasant for you to take refuge in. Everyone has a hermitage within, very safe, very cosy, very comfortable, very calm, and they have to go home to that hermitage.
The expression that the Buddha used is “dípá atta dípá saraná.” “Atta” means self, “dípá” means island, and “saraná” means refuge. “Taking refuge in the island of self.” This is the dharma talk that the Buddha gave when he was 80 to many groups of friends and disciples. If you rely on the outside, you get lost. That is why you have to go home and rely on something that is reliable, that is the island of self.
There are many ways to go home to the island of self. One of the ways is to practise mindful breathing and concentrate on your breath. You will discover the island of self. The other way is to do walking meditation. Every step brings you home to the here and the now, and then you can open the door of the island of self and go into it. We remember the teaching of the Buddha when we are tired, when we feel that we are not solid, we feel we are victims of the environment and victims of our emotions, and then what we should do is to go home right away, to the hermitage, to the island of self.
And with the practice, we will discover that is the safest place to go back to. And after some time being in the island of self, in the hermitage of self, you recover yourself and then you are in a much better position to get in touch with the world outside. And Thay has said that it takes time, it takes practice in order to recognise, to find our island of self, because the island of self is not exactly in the body.
When we say inside, that does not mean exactly inside the body, it is not really located in the body. We have a better chance to find it in the dharma body than in the physical body. And everyone has that island. No waves can reach that island, so standing on the island, we are very safe, we recover ourselves, restore ourselves, become strong, and then we are ready to go out again, to help. And so even if you are still very young, you know that there is an island within yourself.
Every time you feel you suffer so much, nothing seems to go right, you have to stop making efforts, you have to go home to that island right away. And taking refuge in the island for five, ten, fifteen minutes, half an hour, you know that you feel stronger, much better within yourself.
THICH NHAT HANH
www.plumvillage.org
Author of " Old Path White Clouds"
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