Buddha’s teaching is commonly referred to as “Dharma”. Following is a motivating talk by Joseph Goldstein on Four reflections that can help turn our minds towards ‘Dharma practice’.
Turning the mind towards the Dharma
A huge collection of Joseph’s Dharma talks are available here.
and some out-of-the-box strategies to address environmental / energy issues. Betting big on technology and innovation to make economy greener. Predicts oil below $30 a barrel in 2030, because of cost-competitive alternative energy solutions. Now, that’s a bold call !
TVS Jive 110cc bike ! Reviews here and here. 50K rupees.
I bought this bike primarily for following reasons
(a) comfortable ride – bikes offer better shock absorption than scooters (perhaps because of the longer length of the absorber, and height of the bike).
(b) ease-of-use – This bike has auto-clutch technology, so its easier to ride than regular bikes, especially in urban areas. There is no need to constantly operate the clutch lever with left hand. Its taken care of automatically when accelerator is lowered. Simply lower the accelerator and change gear. In addition, “anti-knocking” and “rotary-gear” technologies also make this bike very easy to use.
(c) mileage – reviews said it gives 60 kmpl in the city and a little more on highway. Better than 40kmpl iam getting with my current scooter Mahindra flyte.
I took test drives at three dealers and liked the ease-of-use factor. Based on this, and some reviews on the net, I took the plunge. Lets see how it works out in the longer run, especially the gear box with all the new technology incorporated.
Now, a small anecdote – when I went to the dealer to close the deal (after we had finalized the total price inclusive of everything for 50k rupees), the dealer told me I will have to pay Rs 2300 extra “luxury tax” to the government because I already had one scooter on my name. I was offered some tricks to avoid paying the tax (for example, just change the format of the name, so that computers cannot detect the name match). There was zero risk on my part to do that – I was not giving any false information .. just change the format of the name. Still, my conscience objected to it and I negotiated a 50-50 sharing of the extra tax. The dealer was clearly not happy for having to shell down Rs 1150 more, but, for whatever reasons, he agreed. So, I ended up paying Rs 51150 total.
If I were to guess how many people in India would choose my route of paying the tax, unfortunately it would probably be less than 20%. People will be very happy to cut corners and provide all kinds of false declarations to save money. Iam afraid there’s a deep-rooted culture of dishonesty here in India. I’ve noticed even well-to-do people cut corners to save small amounts of money. For example, bribe a municipal corporation fellow to get tax reduced, bribe water meter fellow to tamper water meter, bribe a TC to get berth allotted out-of-turn etc. These things may appear small, but I think they all add-up to create an overall atmosphere of dishonesty. I think corruption – from smallest level I mentioned, to highest level – is the number one cause of India’s poor state of affairs.
I find it useful to make distinction between two kinds of corruption:
1. When there is a collusion between giver and taker, in order to get a mutually beneficial outcome, AT THE COST of somebody else. (bribing someone to get a work contract at the cost of someone else, bribe to get water bill reduced etc).
2. When there is no special benefit to the giver, but s/he has to pay a bribe just to get a LEGITIMATE work done. (bribe to get a legitimate municipal pass book done on time). In this case, there is no unfair advantage to the giver.
Both forms of corruption are preferably avoided, but obviously type-1 is much more unethical and harmful to society. If a vast majority of people (especially well-to-do middle/upper income people) desist from engaging in atleast type-1 corruption, there will be a vast improvement in overall atmosphere and will help to reduce corruption in the long run.
This book, coming from “center for innovation, incubation and entrepreneurship” of IIMA, is the story of 25 IIMA graduates who chose the “rough road of entrepreneurship” over the relatively less-risky more-comfortable route of being part of a well-established company. The author Rashmi Bansal (herself IIMA) has actually met and interviewed each entrepreneur featured, so the stories are very much first hand information.
Each entrepreneur’s story forms a separate chapter of the book, and each chapter ends with the entrepreneur’s concise one-page “Advice to young entrepreneur”.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book. The writing style is very informal and engaging, and makes a smooth read. The companies featured are across sectors – jobs website, hotel, online travel, pharma, mining equipment, educational software, investment bank, online trading, retail chain, infrastructure consultancy, sugar, enterprise software, school, charity portal etc etc. Iam happy to gain a little bit of domain knowledge in these verticals. Besides, many of the companies – naukri.com, subhiksha, india infoline, mphasis, makemytrip.com, shri renuka sugars, mastek, edelweiss etc – are ones i’ve heard before either as a customer or from the business channels. Its interesting to know a bit about what went into making these companies from scratch. Lots of drive, talent, risk-taking, energy and dedication go into building these companies !
Almost all stories are of classical entrepreneur (build companies with mainly a for-profit motivation), but few of them (GiveIndia.org, eklavya school, basix micro-fianance etc) have a social entrepreneurship angle to them, which added to the diversity of the book.
Overall, a good read and many people – not just entrepreneur types – should find this book interesting. When we are talking about stories of 25 talented people who built their own organizations from scratch, there’s bound to be lots of useful information, ideas and advice. In fact, the title of the book itself is a pithy advice from a world-class entrepreneur Steve Jobs (in his 2005 Stanford commencement address).
The funding for this book project is done by “Wadhwani Foundation”. Thanks to them .. and a little plug:
“The Wadhwani Foundation funds not-for-profit efforts that inspire, educate and support new entrepreneur’s and create environments where they can succeed. Its mission is to help individuals achieve their full potential, regardless of their background.
Launched in 2000, the Wadhwani Foundation is founded by Dr.Romesh Wadhwani, an IT entrepreneur in silicon valley, california.
Wadhwani Foundation believes entrepreneurship is a powerful tool for individuals to realize their potential. Entrepreneurship is more than starting a business; it is a way of thinking, and a critical driver of growth in any economy. Entrepreneurs bring to the market new products and services , and device better and more efficient ways to operate.
In doing so, they create valuable productive new jobs. Successful entrepreneurs create wealth for themselves, their families, their communities, and their societies.
For more, log in to www.wadhwani-foundation.org
Related websites:
www.ciieindia.org ; Center for innovation, incubation and entrepreneurship, at IIMA.
www.nenonline.org : National Entrepreneurship Network.
.. looking at these numbers:
And, this whole show emerged from a tiny dot , 14 billion years ago ?
in-credible.
A detailed 90 minute presentation by Robert Lustig M.D, about negative health effects of Fructose.
Fructose, like Glucose, is a very simple carbohydrate. It has the same molecular formula as Glucose (C6 H12 O6), but different molecular structure. It is present naturally in Fruits etc. Sucrose (table sugar) is 50% Glucose and 50% Fructose. High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is a manufactured sweetener with around 42-55% Fructose and rest Glucose. Both HFCS and Sucrose break-up into Glucose / Fructose in the stomach, within seconds.
The speaker’s main thesis is this:
1. In quantities being consumed now-a-days, Fructose has many negative health effects.
2. “Fructose is not Glucose”. The way the body metabolizes Glucoses is very different from the way it metabolizes Fructose.
3. Excess Fructose consumption is contributing to Obesity.
4. Fructose is metabolized similar to alchohol. It has many of the negative health effects that alchohol has. Lustig calls Fructose “Alchohol without the buzz”.
Summary slide from the talk:
Practical take-away’s from the talk:
1. Avoid sugared stuff (aerated soft drinks, sugared fruit juices, sweets etc) as much as possible.
2. Have more fiber in the diet. Modern foods tend to be loaded with carbs without fiber.
The whole presentation is worth watching. In fact, i watched the entire talk twice because its very educative. Pls take some time for it.
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