Because I need something to pander to my insecurity. I need something to be dependent upon. I want something which would always be with me and help me when I need. I want something which can help me and can do no wrong and will always help me whenever I need it.
What is the insecurity?
Insecurity concerning my life, possessions, desires and ambitions.
God is not anthropomorphic.
Why?
Because God, if it indeed exists, would have been even before Homo Sapiens evolved from archaic humans and apes.
God is not a unique name like Shiva or Vishnu or Allah or Jesus or Apollo or Zeus.
Why?
Because God, if it indeed exists, would be the same for all of us. Also, since God would have existed even before organized religion or Homo Sapiens came, it must be one and the same for all (Homo Sapiens, Homo Erectus, Homo Habilis, Neanderthal, Australopithicus, Great Apes, etc.)
If God created the universe, he must have existed before the creation of the universe. So, God must have existed even before life began on planet Earth. Much before that, God must have existed during the Big Bang.
Thus, God existed irrespective of whether there was a life or not. God was present even when there was zero to very little sign of life. Thus existence of God, if true, is independent of living beings. God was there even when only non-living things existed.
Beginning of life on Planet Earth was just a chance. Evolution of apes to the genus Homo was just a chance. God existed even before Homo Sapiens evolved.
Dear World/Universe,
God is not anthropomorphic.
Why?
Because God existed even before Homo genus evolved.
God does not have a particular shape that we are commonly aware of.
Why?
Because God existed even before the present life forms evolved.
God is not exclusively associated with living beings.
Why?
Because God existed even before any sign of life evolved or emerged.
Can we say that there is no God but laws of the Universe?
God, if it exists, would have existed even if life had not started on this planet.
Can we say that the purpose of our lives is to make the best possible use of our brains.
For what?
Was God present when the very first sign of life emerged?
Is God bipedal?
God, if it exists, would have existed even before bipedalism emerged.
Then, is God all about hope and faith?
But there was no hope or faith in the earliest life forms.
Were the laws of the Universe applicable to the earliest life forms ?
If yes, what could have the earliest life forms done to influence their lives?
In today’s time we regard our hair more as a fashion statement than as an indicator of health. No one actually seems to see it from a health angle until the first symptoms start to appear, or even worse, when symptoms get extreme, or even scary. But the truth is: this has been the case since time immemorial. Hair styling has always been a part of human civilization. Wooden and ivory combs as old as 2500 year have been found in the Indus Valley Civilization.
Humans have always accorded importance to hair as a source of attraction. But do we know that our hair can tell us about our health? Hair, our own or of others, can tell many things about one’s health.
With the advancement in modern science, as the society becomes health conscious, it is imperative that haircare become a topic of discussion in social circles and coffee talks. Haircare requires experience, trust, expert consultation & treatment. Visit here to know more about how healthy hair can lead to a healthy and a confident personality.
Here are ten health-related indicators that our hair can tell us:
1. Dandruff
Arguably, dandruff is the most common of all the symptoms of unhealthy hair. When the scalp dries and withers away, flakes that get stuck on the hair are called dandruff. Technically known as seborrheic dermatitis, dandruff can be accompanied by itchiness, redness of skin and scaly patches. Occurrence of dandruff indicates an unbalanced or an unhealthy diet.
2. Premature Greying
Greying of hair at an early age is mostly due to genetic reasons. However, it can also be due to deficiency of vitamin B-12. Episodes of sporadic greying or whitening can be an indicator of stress, according to a study published in Nature Medicine.
3. Pattern Baldness
Pattern baldness is more pronounced in men. As the name suggests, it sets off on a set pattern and can happen at an early age if adequate care is not taken. Also known as androgenetic alopecia, baldness is due to several reasons. Some of these are: lifestyle changes, hormonal changes (androgen hormone), exposure to arsenic and lead, post-covid symptoms, hair breakage because of dryness, etc.
4. Dry or Brittle Hair
Quite simply, dry hair is due to dryness. When the hair gets dehydrated, it tends to dry. Some of the causes are environmental such as dry climatic conditions and excessive exposure to heat and wind; health-related such as calcium deficiency, malnutrition, thyroid hormone deficiency and lack of copper absorbing capacity in the brain; and lifestyle-related such as frequent washing of hair, excessive chemical treatment and blow drying.
5. Itchy Scalp
Itchiness on the scalp can be irritating and distracting. Other than the commonly understood reasons – inadequate drying after a hair wash, presence of lice or dandruff and tangled hair – an itchy scalp can point towards various inadequacies. These are allergic reactions to medications, shampoo and unsafe water; zinc deficiency; scalp acne or hives; and in severe cases, presence of fungal infections, migraine headaches and skin cancer.
6. Thin Hair
One of the main causes of thin hair is the gradual shrinking of follicles. It leads to thinner as well as shorter hair. Thinning of hair can happen due to genetic and lifestyle reasons. Physiologically, it can indicate vitamin D deficiency, hormonal changes, reaction to hair treatments and medications, excessive weight loss in a short duration, skin infections or postpartum conditions.
7. Solitary Hair
Presence of solitary hair, that is, a single or few strands growing at unusual parts of the body is more common in women, although men also have it. It can grow on the face, ear, arm, belly button or other parts and can indicate hormonal imbalance (women also produce the androgen hormone) due to teenagehood, lifestyle changes and menopause. However, it can also be an indicator of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) which causes cyst growth in the ovaries, and does require medical intervention for cure.
8. Hair Colour
Hair colour is determined by pigments in the follicle. Black is the most common hair trait in the human population and is due to the presence of a pigment known as eumelanin. On the other hand, red hair is caused by a pigment called pheomelanin.
9. Split Ends
Split ends, a very common problem, is a consequence of drying of hair at the ends. Thus, similar to the problem of dry hair, it is caused by dehydration, heat damage, chemical treatment or dyeing.
10. Bald Patches
Technically known as alopecia areata, bald patches are caused by auto-immune disorders. That is, the white blood cells (WBCs) mistakenly attack the hair follicle cells. The cause is primarily known to be genetic (i.e., hereditary) with very little evidence suggesting the role of excessive stress. Bald patches can occur not only at the scalp but also in the beard.
Through this blog, I would like to share a remarkable observation. The Vedantic/Upanishadic teaching on mind and intellect and their functions resembles a striking similarity to brain science. Very similar to the teachings of the Vedanta philosophy concerning the use of the intellect to control the mind is the Triune Brain Model by American neuroscientist, Dr. Paul D. MacLean, proposed in the 1960s.
According to this model/hypothesis, the human brain is composed of three parts: the Reptile brain, the Mammal brain (also known by other names: the Animal brain, the Limbic System, the paleo-mammalian brain, the emotional brain), and the Human brain (also called as the neo-mammalian brain or the neocortex).
The Reptilian brain comprises brainstem and cerebellum, and is responsible for functions that run on an auto-pilot in our bodies. E.g., blood circulation, temperature, heart beat, and unconscious breathing. This part of the brain was the first to be developed in the early life forms and reptiles, and therefore, it is the oldest part in the evolution of brain.
The Limbic System is responsible for functions responsible for emotions, habits, feelings, stress, fear, anxiety, sexual drive, etc. It is mainly constituted of the amygdala (responsible for fear, threat perception), hippocampus (responsible for habits, memories, emotional response, etc.), thalamus, hypothalamus, olfactory bulb. This part was the second to evolve in the brain, and plays a predominant role in the animals.
The Human brain or the neocortex is the latest to evolve, and is predominant in homo sapiens. As the evolution of life forms has progressed from animals to homo sapiens, the proportion of the neocortex has increased. The neocortex is responsible for higher order thinking skills, rationalising, cognition, language understanding, visual processing, auditory processing, etc.
The reptilian brain is predominant in the lower life forms such as reptiles, the animals have a predominant limbic system, whereas the neocortex is more developed in the human beings.
The higher number of folds (called gyri and sulci) in the neocortex means higher cognitive (intellectual) skills.
This Triune Brain model is remarkably similar to the teachings of the Vedanta. The Limbic System can be compared to the mind (मन) whereas the Neocortex can be compared to the Intellect (बुद्धि).
Another similarity that I observed is between the famous “human body and chariot” analogy in the Upanishads and the brain science.
The sensory information (horses signify the senses ) first goes to the limbic system (the rein signifies the mind), and then it is processed in the neocortex (the charioteer signifies the intellect). For example, all the sensory information except the smell passes through the thalamus in the limbic system, and then to the respective lobes {frontal (for decisions, rational thinking), parietal, occipital (for visual processing)} of the neocortex. The smell information passes through the olfactory bulb in the limbic system, and then to the temporal lobe in the neocortex. There exist bi-directional and consistent communication between the limbic system and the neocortex, similar to the Vedantic teaching of the intellect’s role to control/direct/discipline the mind.
How do we comfortably sit in our own cocoon , not wanting to try anything new or to learn anything, even though we may not be in a good condition. Our brain has made us habituated to our own cocoon.
How unknowingly our comfort zone has been limiting us, and still we choose to stay in it, because we may not be liking it, but we are comfortable in it!
It is the same comfort zone which does not let you meet and talk to new people. It does not let you approach someone for help and advice. It is this comfort zone that does not let you to talk to someone superior to you. You don’t call a friend of yours because you feel insecure while talking to them.
In a society where a child is told, “Bahar dhoop mein mat jao, kaale ho jaoge” (don’t go out in the sun, you will turn dark), a primary school textbook pictures ugliness to darker complexion, and which has made fairness cream industry a multi-million dollar business, it is of little surprise that we are increasingly becoming obsessed with fair skin complexion. Fairness of skin tone has been associated with being sexy and attractive. To make the matter worse, fairness cream ads try to associate it with confidence, self-esteem and chances of employability.
It is well-researched that skin colour depends on several factors, primarily on the amount of melanin in the skin. Skin colour at birth, therefore, is completely natural. The reason for varying melanin content in the skin depends on the UVR penetration of the skin which in turn varies from region to region (more near the equator and lesser at the temperate regions).
While the debate on this topic may be of lesser relevance for a light-skinned person, the gravity of this can be understood if we look into the difficulties and mental harassment many women in our country face during marriage proposals or during employment opportunities. In a society reeling under pressure from relatives and social acceptance, parents advice their child to apply fairness cream right from his/her childhood. The multimillion dollar cosmetic industry can be held responsible for engendering such prejudices – they go on to use derogatory terms like ugly, dirty for darker skin for their advertisement, which promotes racism and discrimination and shapes the mind-set of people. One cannot ignore the frequency of such TV commercials during a cricket match.
A leading example of a crusader against this negative advertising is Nandita Das who discussed these issues in her book titled Stay Unfair, Stay Beautiful, and has been an active campaigner towards ending this prejudice. She stated that this topic is a kind which should be extensively debated. Like any other social issue, this will also require more awareness and popular participation of people. While it is a personal choice of skin colour for an individual, the mental conditioning through mass communications and advertisements should end. Some of the ways that can be suggested are: skin cosmetic companies should target more on features like pimples, blemishes and dark slots, if not in real then in their advertisements; celebrities can opt out of promoting such products that guarantee white “snow white” skin; use of derogatory terms for dark skin tone should be stopped; people can set an example for others to follow; employers should really be an equal-opportunity provider; giving more lead roles to actors/actresses with darker complexion without compromising on the quality of acting, or as the case may be.
Stay UNfair, Stay Beautiful by Nandita Das
In conclusion, I would like to state that the need is to provide equal opportunities and end this discrimination of black and white for these issues have no place in this colourful world.
I am reminded of a series of incidents that happened with me for a period of over two weeks while I was at Nandyal (Andhra Pradesh, India) working in a cement manufacturing plant. When I was assigned to come in shifts, I happened to be in a team that was led by a shift-incharge, years my senior (31 years of age at that time, regarded as the go-to person by many in Nandyal plant), who bullied me many times in control room, and while we used to wait at the bus stop. During the starting times when he met me, he used to provoke me quite often, sometimes staring at me for no reason, slightly pushing me, ragging me (by regularly asking me why don’t I drink or smoke, that I am unfit for a plant job, though I must admit I never felt like being ragged) in company of other operators. When these incidents got to my mind and I was at a peak of outburst, I remember anxiously sitting in the plant bus planning my strategy as to how I was going to tackle him today – Should I straightaway warn him? Should I take up this matter with my supervisor (my supervisor was a mature and an able person)? Should I talk to my parents? Should I talk to Biswa (who is one of my close friends, as I was reminded of him)? Should I just act differently so that he sees me not as a person different from others, and so that he is pleased and we don’t bother each other much? or Should I just leave this job? (This all happened for a period of one to three weeks, and was at its peak for one or two days)
I did not take any action against him. But then things started to change. Upon reflection, I realised that I just did these things – I did not change my personality to suit him, I did not pretend to be a different person than who I was then, I stuck to my basics on how to deal with people the way I have had done previously. Because I knew that I was not wrong, and like many things, this too shall pass. I just kept calm and kept faith. One thing that I would like to state at this point is that the bully perhaps does not realises how much of an emotional impact (I remember Biswa calling me over phone and crying!) he can have on his junior colleagues.
Now that same person whom I used to hate the most in the plant became one of my best colleagues in the plant. Perhaps he slowly started to realise that I was not faking (for example- as I don’t drink or smoke, he forced me several times to start drinking (I have realized people do this to make a political statement)). Perhaps I was able to give him a different perspective. He started to joke with me quite often and talk about his son, he started to teach me mill operations from control room, he sent me an FB friend request, he helped me plan my travel to home, he gave me his phone number in case of any help, and many other things. What happened is that his attitude towards me changed. Now as I look back I find it funny that how I used to be so disturbed by this man, as if he was the biggest problem in the plant. I talked to him over phone day-before-yesterday and he invited me to visit Nandyal.
Now things could have turned very differently had I reacted too much during those times, I do not deny this. But I did what I felt was the best I could do at that time. I am happy that this happened to me as it gave me a perspective and taught me lessons.
Now it is very much possible that the person (the bully) may read this account and feel shocked and then go on to give a completely different narrative. That’s the beauty of it, each one of us have a unique experience and perspective on looking at things. Our thinking makes something good or bad, otherwise it is just as it is.
It is true that skills, and not degrees, take us far in life. But it is also true that we need degrees to enter into the job market in India and in many other countries. This debate of “whether we really need a degree” is also common to other countries, even to the USA. In the present scenario, to be eligible for a professional job, it is a must to have a degree to back your credentials as it supports the job applicant’s resume. Certain professional fields which are too much subject-specific such as law, medicine (MBBS, MS), academia (teaching) necessarily require a degree and it is not possible to embark on such professions without them. While certain other professions such as public speaking, entrepreneurship, sports, do not require educational degrees as such.
Only 2 per cent out of the 15 million workforce which is added per year is job-ready. Other than the problem of an ever-increasing population, a big part of this problem lies with our education system. Since school we are taught and encouraged to be hard-working individuals who can add to the workforce of the country, and not so much on creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation. The reason why creativity and innovative thinking are not encouraged in our school and university education can be attributed to the following reasons. One, students in schools (especially after entering secondary and senior-secondary classes) are under a constant pressure to perform in regularly-conducted tests and assessments. Two, teachers in private and government schools and colleges, many of whom are disinterested in their professions, are not periodically evaluated and assessed so that they can be trained on their teaching skills (communication skills, audio-visual presentations, conducting smart classes, etc.) which they might be lacking in. If a university teacher is disinterested in teaching or considers her profession as a burden which is to be transferred onto the students, or is lacking in communication skills, how can she motivate and generate interest among the students to think outside the box? Encouraging thinking outside the box will lead to innovative ideas, some of these ideas will be acted upon and that will lead to job creation. Three, tendency to streamline the system by laying over-emphasis on grades. Students end up studying just for marks with little guidance by parents/teachers to help them see the bigger picture.
Parents, in turn, just reciprocate what our education system demands. Every other parent wants his/her child to go for engineering education so as to be able to secure a well-paying job which indicates their concern borne out of insecurity for livelihood and sustenance. As an example, engineering education has failed terribly in India because of its degrading quality and low-quality output. Too many entrants has lead to too many colleges compromising the quality of engineering education. Engineering colleges have ended up producing generalists instead of specialists – how much of these generalists are job-ready?
To tackle unemployment, other than job guarantee schemes like MNREGA, the government has focused on imparting job-specific skills (eg. schemes like Skill India). Entrepreneurship, which does not require educational degree and which can create multiple jobs at a time, has also been encouraged through schemes like MUDRA and Startup India. Renewable energy sector, especially the solar energy sector, has seen an amazing growth in Asia since 2011. Around 60 per cent of global jobs in renewable energy sector have been created in Asia, with China topping the list.
Degree’s role is limited to validating skills and ensuring eligibility for a particular set of jobs. Job-specific skills, and not degrees, will help us in progressing in our careers. As students, one way to ensure our future in this insecure world is to work very hard on our skills, both the soft and the hard ones.
Hardly people realize the importance of deep and slow breathing. From my personal experience and having read tens of articles on breathing, I can easily summarize the benefits of breathing. A person may survive without food for over week, without water for 2-3 days, but he cannot survive for more than 10 minutes or so without breath. With age people realize their physical body changes, their behavioral changes, but an aspect that never changes since the time of birth is Breath.
Pranayama means controlling of the fundamental life force. The entire ambit of Pranayama is based upon “Prana” i.e., life force, which is nothing but breath. Pranayam is an ancient in-depth yogic discipline developed in India by the sages. It specifies a set of breathing techniques which are targeted to achieve specific results which can improve our physiological and psychological balance.
Meditation can be as simple as being aware of your inhalation and exhalation
In this short blog, I will be stating some of the many benefits of slow and deep breathing.
Our cells also breathe. Uninterrupted, deep and relaxed breathing ensures the continuous and necessary oxygen to all the cells of the body. Inefficient and insufficient breathing makes cells in your body devoid of the requisite energy to function properly. Insufficient oxygen to your skin cells leads to dead cells. Insufficient oxygen to your scalp may lead to hair loss. Insufficient oxygen to your brain cells leads to inefficient thinking subsequently leading to inefficient or ill-thought decisions and actions.
For greater focus. When you concentrate and focus on your breath (inhalation and exhalation), you become aware of your breath. You let go off all the negative and undesirable thoughts from your mind.
For relaxation. You must have experienced choppy, quick and shallow breathing pattern when you are anxious, worried or over-excited. Take a deep breath, filling your stomach (the diaphragm, to be particular) and exhale. Irregular and shallow breathing causes dis-ease to you. This is directly related to point no. 1.
Your diaphragm is the key to confidence!
For increased lung capacity. Diaphragmatic breathing is sure to increase your lung capacity. Diaphragmatic breathing means breathing which expands your diaphragm with inhalation and deflates the diaphragm with exhalation. This expansion and contraction can be felt by placing the backside of your both thumbs just under the top bone of the rib cage while breathing deep and slow.
Your lifelong companion. Your only companion till you leave it. Your breath is going to remain with you throughout your life. Your physiology may change, your attitude and personality will change, but your breath will truly be yours till your death. Take care and be aware of it and it will take care of you.
I am also sharing four of the wonderful videos about breath which I found on YouTube. These have treasure trove of information and wisdom.
Bhastrika (Pranayam) : Explained by Swami Ramdev (Audio language is Hindi)
Meditate Everywhere Anytime by a Tibetan Buddhist Master | Mingyur Rinpoche
The surprising secret to speaking with confidence | Caroline Goyder | TEDxBrixton
The powerful secret of your breath – Romila “Dr. Romie” Mushtaq, MD | Romila Mushtaq | TEDxFargo
It is very important to have an attitude of gratitude in our lives.
What are you grateful for in your life? One of the techniques to immediately shift your thought process from negative to positive is to have an attitude of gratitude. It is when you start to think of and visualize the things in your life that you are grateful that you begin to shift your focus to all that is positive in your life. And what do you attract when you are in a positive vibration? Yes, you attract vibrations that are in harmony with your current state of vibrations. Everyday, think of at least one thing in your life that you are truly grateful for – your family, your wisdom, your consciousness, your lovely pet, etc. – and thank someone (either God or whomever you consider to be the all pervading energy) for that.
The Universe is neutral. It will give you what you ask from it. You can never really attract positivity by always complaining of your present state of affairs. You need to make a conscious effort to think and act on achieving positive outcomes.
Come to think of it, a human’s age has no significance for the Universe – the Earth and the Sun . The Earth is revolving around the Sun and rotating on its axis. The former has no regard of Decembers and Januaries. It is just doing its work.
Q. How are you?
A. Better than yesterday
Q. Who is stopping you from dreaming big?
What is the greatest fear in a human’s life?
Fear of death.
Why did the Universe make homo sapiens emotional and prone to attachment?
So that he fears death/separation of near and dear ones. A person who fears death will also fear separation and (come to think of it, suicide bombing/shahadat in Islamic terrorism has thrived because the recruits have been brain-washed to not fear death. Hence, these recruits have overcome the fear of death. They have been taught to revere death.)
Why is it advised to practice detached-attachment?
Because in this physical world, nothing is permanent. What you hold today will not belong to you tomorrow when you die.
So?
So, isn’t it logical to be prepared for this reality? Why to long for material things when it is known that they will not be in your permanent possession? The person/thing whom/which you love today will leave you tomorrow. Why to live in a false consciousness when logic says that it will end?
Then, what is maya?
Attachment.
What is the way out?
Being aware of this reality while consciously living in the present.
Why to live in the present?
Because the past is gone, never ever to come back. The future (even the immediate one) is uncertain.
Happiness is undoubtedly one of the most important aspects of human existence. Not only does it instantly shifts our state of minds, it helps us in attracting all the good that is there in the Universe. When we are happy we come in a positive (healthy) state of vibration. Thus we tend to attract all those energies (vibrations) which are in harmony with our present state of mind. That is precisely the Law of Vibration.
Here, I present to you my selection of top 5 quotes on Happiness which will be really helpful in shifting your state of vibration.
One of the deterrents that could prolong or possibly halt our dream of becoming a “developed” nation in the coming years is the lack of health and hygiene and the absence of widespread ground-level actions. It is this lacking that is also responsible for widening and retaining the gap between the wealthy in a clean surrounding and the poor in a city slum, the urban formal settlements and the urban informal settlements, in our country. Proper sanitation has a crucial role to play in bridging this gap as it is directly linked to the physical health and subsequent well-being of the people living in that area. In India the practice of open defecation is still prevalent both in urban settlements and rural areas. India has the world’s largest number of people defecating in the open (around 600 million in 2012) which includes approximately 70% of its rural population. This figure is particularly alarming because open defecation has a much more adverse effect on a densely populated country such as ours. It causes and spreads diseases like diarrhea, typhoid and intestinal infections, etc., and is responsible for increasing child mortality. Other far-reaching effects include fatality, undernutrition and stunted growth in children, loss of dignity for women and increased rates of crime against women as they are forced to go out in the open in secluded areas, river pollution and soil pollution.
Government initiatives such as Central Rural Sanitation Programme (CSRP) and Total Sanitation Campaign (Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan) have achieved limited success in their terms. Even though government surpassed its own target of building 6 million toilets by constructing 8 million toilets in 2015-2016, sanitation largely still remains a widespread problem in India. This calls for participation of more private companies as well as common people to end this problem. Two of the major reasons for people still practicing open defecation are non-availability of toilets because of poverty and “behavioral mindset” of the people who still do not realize the importance and interlink between water, sanitation and hygiene. While the former can be tackled by providing more and more infrastructure for toilets, the latter requires creating awareness among the people about this evil practice and change in their mindset, who are still traditionally bound to defecate in the open air.
The Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) was renamed Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan by Manmohan Singh, and later restructured as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan by Narendra Modi in September 2014. The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan was officially launched on 2 October 2014.
Sanitation projects in a populated country like India require participation of people to be popular and successful. Integrating the two approaches of simultaneously building infrastructure and creating awareness among people can help in making Indian villages and slums “open defecation free”. Providing sustainable sanitation facilities by incorporating affordable toilets which are easy to use and clean, strong and all-weather resistant, building toilets inside or in very close vicinity of households can help eradicate open defecation. Building easy-to-use toilets integrated with a composter will prevent spread of diseases, water and soil pollution. Designing mobile toilets, toilets with an in-built alarm system for women, toilets with provision for urine diversion and providing recyclable toilet bags for people in remote areas can also be effective in reinventing the sanitation project in our country. Another aspect of the sanitation project is to teach people about the importance and necessity of maintaining hygiene in their surrounding through audiovisual presentations, as spread of diseases is more prominent in a densely populated area lacking awareness. Encouraging people, providing more incentives and awarding households for installing toilets, even if on a time-bound basis, will increase the participation of people as well as popularity of these projects. Educating women and school going children in rural areas about the benefits of cleanliness and its healthy impact on mental and physical well-being will cause awareness among the rural masses.
The objective of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Campaign) to make India open-defecation free by 2019 can be achieved if we are willing to engage ourselves to contribute our part to tackle the sanitation problem. With all these efforts it will be a matter of time when every Indian truly experiences that “Cleanliness is Godliness”.
Good Samaritan Law provides legal assistance to those people who help save road accident victims by reporting the accident to the police or by helping the victim reach to the hospital. Often it is seen that the helper is wrongly accused and harassed by the police personnel as the perpetrator of crime. It is in these situations that police authorities are required to follow certain guidelines and regulations while dealing with a good Samaritan or witness of the accident.
According to the Law Commission of India, 50 per cent of road accident deaths could be saved if immediate assistance is provided. As per a study conducted by the SaveLIFE foundation (which filed a PIL for the enactment of Good Samaritan Law in India), 3 out of 4 people hesitate to help a road accident victim and 88 per cent out of these cite unwarranted police harassment and questioning.
The Supreme Court in March 2016 approved the guidelines issued by the Centre for enacting Good Samaritan Law. It is sad to know that till now majority of the population has not been sensitized about this law. Even more saddening to know is that many police chaukis are not aware of such law. Following action steps can be taken by relevant authorities:
Since police is now the most evident hurdle in enactment of law, police chaukis on roadways should be sensitized about such provisions.
Provision for appraisal and reward for those who save accident victims
Sensitizing through TV advertisements, social media, Mann ki Baat, etc.
Integrating Duty to Rescue with Good Samaritan Law
Toll-free helpline numbers to nearby hospitals on highways for immediate response. Dedicated division for handling such emergency cases
Signboards and posters on National and State Highways especially in the accident-prone areas
Making sure that Police Stations follow SOPs and government guidelines, eg. not forcing the Good Samaritan to disclose her/his name, limiting the witnesses’ visits to police stations, treating the witness with dignity
Here are some of the quotes on life which are sure to motivate you. Go through these whenever you feel like and get motivated! I first read these quotes during my graduation via an android app called “Brilliant Quotes”. I have been using this app regularly since then.
Islam has two sects – Shia and Sunni. These sects emerged owing to differences in opinions following the death of Prophet Muhammad in 632 AD as to who would lead Islam, which was then a new and a rapidly growing faith. Some section within the Muslim faith wanted Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law (Muhammad’s descendant), Ali, to be the rightful successor (known as the “caliph”). While another section believed that the leader should be chosen by consensus. The end result was the election of Abu Bakr as the successor, causing differences and rift between the people. Thus the sect comprising followers of Ali came to be known as Shia while the other one loyal to Abu Bakr was called Sunni. Two successive assassinations after Abu Bakr’s election ensued and Ali eventually did became the caliph only to be assassinated at the Battle of Karbala.
An art work depicting gabriel who gave the message of Allah to Prophet Muhammad in a cave near Mecca
Quran has no mention of triple talaq
Triple Talaq
Talaq is an Arabic word meaning divorce. The custom of triple talaq is followed by Sunnis and it states that a husband can divorce his wife by enunciating the word “talaq” thrice.
Shias, although belonging to the same religion of Islam, oppose this custom citing its total absence in the Holy book of Quran. Just like any other custom, triple talaq apparently evolved in the Sunni society and culture with time. It finds a mention in the Sharia, the religious law which governs the members of the Islamic faith and this forms the basis for support to this practice. However, many countries including the Muslim-majority ones have laws which render “triple talaq” a not-so-effective law, paving a legal route to register for a divorce.
What can be a more happier moment than waking up to see your phone flooded with Whatsapp and Facebook notifications? But what if you could be divorced by a mere Whatsapp message or over a Facebook post?
Triple Talaq in India
India still needs to fight a tough battle to end triple talaq for its Muslim population. It is a custom which renders women powerless and voiceless, as they face rejection and isolation from their community, for no one really wants to talk about it openly because of fear of strict opposition from the hard-lined community members. Reports of women receiving talaq over Facebook, Skype, Whatsapp have been surfacing in social media and some news channels. As amusing as it may sound, the women has to live under a constant fear of receiving an instant divorce. Recent instances of Muslim women groups, particularly All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board, coming out to protest against this practice has to be seen as welcome sign by all those who are against gender-based discrimination, from people from all walks of life.
Instant talaq with a text message
Sadly, in our country it is difficult to find full political support because of the quantum of vote bank involved with triple talaq as it amounts to politics of appeasement of religious communities. Favouring triple talaq equals support to hard-lined clerics and scholars who can influence the Muslim population. I believe that non-Muslims in India can be the biggest helping hand in the fight to ban triple talaq as they have nothing to fear. By supporting this cause in the name of human rights, they can voice their opinion to scrap this traditional law which snatches away dignity of women. They can protest loud and give voice to tens of millions of Muslim women in India. This rising voice against triple talaq should not be seen as an unwanted interference in the functioning of a particular community but as a movement to bring reform to its centuries-old and obsolete laws. A mass movement on social media can give a big push to this movement to ban triple talaq.
Since triple talaq finds its basis in the Sharia, Sunnis and Shias should collectively analyse and debate on Sharia laws. Definitely a solution and a common ground can be reached if they are serious about the future Muslim generations. Just as it is true for Hinduism, those clerics and scholars who are strongly opposed to progressive reforms have deep-rooted insecurities for their positions and roles if they witness these reforms in their lifetime. I wonder what will these clerics do if their daughters and sisters are divorced by triple talaq, would they still support it in letter and spirit?
A “surgical strike” to end triple talaq would not the serve the entire purpose of putting an end to the practices of demeaning women in Islam. But an initiation has begun which is a good sign. What more evil mental conditioning can you see than the defendant, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) saying that triple talaq prevents the wives from being murdered or burnt by their husbands. I don’t understand what act or mistake by a Muslim woman would force her husband to burn her. This speaks of the patriarchal setup and male-dominated thinking that is rooted in our society (mind you that many similar customs exist in Hinduism which need urgent reforms). Nothing new. Opposing the legal route as a substitute to triple talaq, the AIMPLB opines that the Judiciary is too slow in these matters. Triple talaq is definitely not in line with today’s modern thinking – where is gender equality here? To counter the defendants of triple talaq – why not give triple talaq to women to divorce their husbands?
Whatsoever be the logic behind the birth and continued practice of triple talaq, since it is not mentioned in the Holy Quran and since Islam espouses justice, kindness, compassion and wisdom, a healthy debate should definitely shape the opinions in a progressive (and not regressive) direction. As Victor Hugo said, “Nothing as powerful as an idea whose time has come”. This idea must meet its logical end.
This blog was originally written for Awesummly. Awesummly is an android which provides you with real-time summarised news. To download the app, click here.
At a time when Indian telecommunication companies are blamed for charging much more than they ought to, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani seems to have brought a revolution in this sector with the commercial launch of Reliance Jio Infocomm (Jio) on September 1, 2016, at the Reliance Annual General Meeting. From providing highly attractive introductory offers in voice calling and 4G services to its ambitious plan of capturing up to 10 per cent of over 1 billion-strong customer base, Jio has caught the attention of both mobile subscribers as well as mobile service providers. It aims to serve 100 million subscribers by the end of this year, with an addition of 1 million subscribers per day. Following this, Reliance plans to make revenue in the range of ₹36,000 crores to ₹50,000 crores in FY17.
In an impactful speech, which cost Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular approximately ₹12,000 crores in losses in under 45 minutes, Mukesh Ambani announced a series of measures which is set to directly affect mobile users’ behaviour, waging a “tariff war” with incumbent players in the telecom sector. From issuing free SIM cards and providing lifetime free voice calls (local plus national roaming) to providing free mobile data till December 31, and lowest data rates per megabit consumption (4G data rates will see a decrease from ₹250/GB which is charged by the incumbent players to ₹50/GB), advent of Jio is sure to have sent jitters down the telecom sphere. It is said that competition leads to better performance, but in all this brouhaha, future seems bleak for the likes of Aircel and Telenor. How Bharti Airtel, Vodafone or Idea Cellular effectively react to this is yet to be seen. A battle for providing the lowest tariff will not be a surprise.
The Jio rates
The erstwhile Infotel Broadband Services Limited was rechristened as Reliance Jio Infocomm in 2015. Jio was previously launched as a beta service to its employees and partners in December 2015. As far as the initial investment in this project is concerned, Jio is supposedly world’s biggest venture with ₹150,000 crore investment. With a very strong backing by RIL, it is all prepared to take initial blows in terms of direct losses till 31 December. It will only start making revenue from January 2017 when it begins to charge for its data usage (from ₹149 to ₹4999 on a monthly basis). Apart from data services, it aims to leverage revenue from various digital services like video streaming (with a feature similar to Netflix) and other sources, not to forget the already profit-making RIL.
All this is indeed a welcome step towards digital literacy, especially as it is brought about by a private entity. This will motivate other players to step in – a step they must take in order to survive in the competition. According to media reports, Vodafone and Airtel have called Jio’s offer a “gimmick” while the state-owned BSNL has pledged to match Jio “tariff-by-tariff”. At the current stage, Reliance Jio has everything to experiment with, owing to its strong financial support. What is left for other big players is to prevent an exodus of their top customers to Jio, for 30 per cent of the customers contribute to 70 per cent of their revenue. The launch of Jio seems to have been played out positively on consumer sentiment. Whatever level of competition and commotion this leads to, the end beneficiary is going to be the customers. And this is what really matters to us.
This blog was originally written for Awesummly. Awesummly is an android which provides you with real-time summarised news. To download the app, click here.
The legendary speaker and author Bob Proctor has been and continues to be a great motivation for millions all over the world. An institution in his own self and a great admirer of Napoleon Hill, Bob has been passionately giving himself for the cause of personal development, educating people all over the world. One can only realize the power in his teachings by watching his videos or listening to his audios. Most of his videos are available on YouTube for free.
In 2006, Mr Bob Proctor featured in the blockbuster documentary movie The Secret which featured many other authors and speakers who emphasized upon and discussed about The Law of Attraction. About a decade ago, he co-founded the Proctor Gallagher Institute with Sandy Gallagher – a successful banking attorney in the U.S., and someone who was taken aback when she heard Bob for the first time in one of his seminars in Vancouver (in 2006) and had decided back then to work with him and be his closest adviser.
In his mid-twenties, Bob, with a very little formal education, started a cleaning business and he went on to take his then meager earning of $4,000 a year to over $1,000,000 a year in under 5 years by following his mentor and reading, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, among other steps that he took diligently. He worked closely with Earl Nightingale from 1968 to 1973 at Nightingale-Conant, before starting his own personal development company. Interestingly, Bob Proctor continues to use the same copy of the book, every single day of his life. Now that is dedication and consistency. Bob is now 82 years old but still a student – someone who is passionate and believes in continually learning.
A young Bob Proctor (center) with Earl NIghtingale (left) and Llyod Conant
After becoming a millionaire, it took 9 years for Bob to get to know exactly what he had done to transform his fortune. Like he stresses in his videos, he knew he wasn’t smart and intelligent enough to earn so much, so he really wanted to find out what exactly he had done to transform his life. Since then he had decided to dedicate his life to the cause of personal development, by sharing all that he knew. Almost all of Bob’s talks are focused on Paradigms (conditioned way of thinking; why do we what we do) and money. Other aspects like imagination, visualization/visioneering, positive thinking and goal-setting revolve around Paradigms.
Bob Proctor and Sandy Gallagher
I would like to share some of the numerous quotes by Bob Proctor which I have come across.
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Sharing a link to the video of one of Bob’s live seminars –
You might be aware of the recent case of group of CSIR (Council of Scientific and Educational Research) scientists at Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh, India, being caught in a case of furnishing fabricated data in research Papers. It comes as an insult for the scientific community to India.
If asked about 5 things that are plaguing India’s potential in Science, Technology and Research, I will give the following points:
In general, a paradigm shift from a scientific inclination (bent of mind) towards non-scientific pursuits- This point is contestable. Parents these days do not actually encourage their child/children to take up Science and Research as a career. Maybe they are aware of the plight of M.Sc.s and Ph.D.s in India demanding more pay, comparable to management graduates and B. Techs. All they want is : their child/children should be earning a 7-figure pay package after graduation.
Kolkata: A boy displays a ‘Micro Air Vehicle’ at the ‘Children’s Science Congress’ during 100th Indian Science Congress, in Kolkata on Friday. PTI Photo
Questionable work ethics of the scientists or researchers: In all possibility, incidents like these from the same scientists, and others, might have gone unnoticed in the past. A student who can successfully forge lab data and readings to defend his/her thesis may try to do the same in his professional life.
Institute of Microbial Technology at Chandigarh, India
Significant brain drain of talent from India at all levels (post-intermediate, graduate, post-graduate, doctorate, etc.): loss of talents, who choose to leave India for a more prosperous and fulfilling future in their respective fields
Brain Drain or Brain in a Drain?
Lack of engagement with foreign institutions and agencies at the research level resulting in no or low accountability for local researchers
Education globalization
Lack of funds (such as, for procuring latest instruments) and incentives to successfully carry out the research work
The Opining Indian 