Turning the mind towards the Dharma

A huge collection of Joseph’s Dharma talks are available here.

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.

• Speed of Earth’s rotation, at the equator — 1670 km per hour. (source1, source2)
• Speed at which Earth revolves around the Sun — 30 km/s or 108000 km/hr.
• Speed at which the entire Solar System is orbiting around the center of milky way galaxy — 220 to 270 km/s. It takes the solar system about 225 to 250 million years to complete one orbit of the galaxy (a ‘galactic year’). (source, source2)
• The universe itself is expanding, and the speed at which the ‘Local Group’ (the cluster of galaxies to which milky way belongs) is traveling — 600 km/s. (source1, source2)
• Number of stars in Milky way galaxy is estimated to be 200 – 400 billion. (source, source2)
• The number of galaxies in the universe is very roughly estimated to be 100 – 200 billion. (source1)
• Estimate for number of stars in the universe is anywhere between 50 sextillion (source) to 300 sextillion (source). The total number of stars in the universe is greater than the total number of grains of sand on all the beaches of planet earth ! (source)
• A single star (our Sun) burns about 4 million tonnes of proton mass per second. Of this, only five pounds worth of energy is intercepted by the entire earth’s surface. That is a mere 0.00000008 percent of the total energy emitted by the Sun.

And, this whole show emerged from a tiny dot , 14 billion years ago ?

in-credible.

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.

Picked up the book “What the Buddha taught” by Walpola Rahula, from local library. This is a short 150 page book containing the essence of Buddha’s teachings. Iam going through it slowly, taking lot of notes. The first chapter discusses various attitudes-of-mind encouraged by the Buddha. I find them to be scientific in spirit, and would like to personally develop them.

Attitude 1: Take responsibility for oneself

Note: All selections below are from the book. Direct quotations of the Buddha are indicated clearly, where necessary.

[ The Buddha ] claimed no inspiration from any god or external power either. He attributed all his realization, attainments and achievements to human endeavor and human intelligence.

Man is his own master, and there is no higher being or power that sits in judgment over his destiny.

‘One is one’s own refuge, who else could be the refuge?’ said the Buddha. He admonished his disciples to ‘be a refuge to themselves’, and never to seek refuge or help from anybody else. He taught, encouraged and stimulated each person to develop himself and to work out his own emancipation, for man has the power to liberate himself from all bondage through his own personal effort and intelligence. The Buddha says: ‘You should do your work, for the Tathagatas only teach the way’.

Attitude 2: Emphasize on clearly seeing the Truth for oneself rather than belief in theories

[ Buddha addressing a clan of people known as kalamas :] ‘Now, look you kalamas, do not be led by reports, or tradition, or hearsay. Be not be led by the authority of religious texts, nor by mere logic or inference, nor by considering appearances, nor by the delight in speculative opinions, nor by seeming possibilities, nor by the idea ‘this is our teacher’. But, O Kalamas, when you know for yourselves that certain things are unwholesome (akusala), and wrong, and bad, then give them up. And when you know for yourselves that certain things are wholesome (kusala) and good, then accept them and follow them.’

In Buddhism, the emphasis is laid on ‘seeing’, knowing, and understanding, and not on faith or belief.

The question of belief arises when there is no seeing – seeing in every sense of the word. The moment you see, the question of belief disappears. If I tell you that I have a gem hidden in the folded palm of my hand, the question of belief arises because you do not see it yourself. But if I unclench my fist and show you the gem, then you see it for yourself, and the question of belief does not arise. So the phrase in ancient Buddhist texts reads: ‘Realizing, as one sees a gem (or a myrobalan fruit) in the palm’.

I do think that belief has a place in practice, and to some extent it is an essential driver of practice. A bare minimum belief statement can be: “yes, what the Buddha and other yogis taught makes some logical sense. I think he’s saying something important and useful. Its worth investing my time exploring it”. Clearly, this kind of generalized faith or belief (more like openness), is different from believing in some metaphysical concept which one cannot verify immediately. In my practice, Iam trying to maintain a general faith/belief necessary to maintain strong practice, but let-go of all concepts especially one’s that are far fetched.

Attitude 3: Emphasize on the practical aim of improving the quality/state of one’s mind rather than intellectual speculation

“… It is quite clear that the Buddha’s teaching is meant to carry man to safety, peace, happiness, tranquility, the attainment of Nirvana. The whole doctrine taught by the Buddha leads to this end. He did not say things just to satisfy intellectual curiosity. He was a practical teacher, and taught only those things which would bring peace and happiness to man.”

The Buddha was once staying in a Simsapa forest in Kosambi (near Allahabad). He took a few leaves into his hand, and asked his disciples: “What do you think, O bhikkus ? Which is more ? These few leaves in my hand or the leaves in the forest over here ?’. ‘Sir, very few are the leaves in the hand of the Blessed One, but indeed the leaves in the Simsapa forest over here are very much more abundant.’ ‘Even so, bhikkus, of what I have known I have told you only a little, what I have not told you is very much more. And why have I not told you (those things) ? Because it is not useful .. not leading to Nirvana. That is why I have not told you those things.’

In another instance, Buddha used the analogy of a poisoned arrow. Suppose a man is shot by a poisoned arrow. Would he be interested in immediately removing the poisoned arrow, OR, while the arrow is still present in the body, engage in questions such as “who shot the arrow”, “what is his name and family”, “whether he is tall, short, or of medium stature”, “from which village, town, or city he comes” etc ? Buddha’s thesis is that human beings live in a state of Dukkha (dissatisfaction, restlessness, stress). He focused his teachings on helping people solve that problem and improve the state of mind, rather than discuss metaphysical questions such as “Is the universe eternal”, “is the universe infinite” which Buddha considered “not useful”, “not fundamentally connected” to the practical goal of improving state of mind.

Tried it out in the evening today, and, carrying a 6kg load really helped ! Just holding the dumbells and walking added that extra resistance i needed. Also i can do some simple exercises with them while walking, and also during the break. It adds in a little bit “strength training” aspect during the walk. All in all, very helpful. Why din’t i think of this before ?!!

The world appears to us as containing various objects – people, trees, animals, moon, sun, oceans, cars, computers, and a million others – that are somehow fundamentally different from each other. This is the surface reality that we are familiar with. But look beneath, and we discover that ALL these “things” are actually assembled by combining just about hundred types of atoms in various configurations. Every “thing” we see is composed of these basic elementary atoms. (ref: periodic table, periodic table videos).

This is the first level of “unification” of seemingly diverse objects.

If we look deeper, we discover that all matter is in fact a recombination of just a handful of elementary particles. (ref: standard model of particle physics).

If we look even deeper, we discover that ALL matter is nothing but Energy. That’s it. All matter is condensed energy. In this 1-minute voice clip Einstein explains matter-energy equivalence in simple language:

“It follows from the special theory of relativity that mass and energy are both but different manifestations of the same thing – a somewhat unfamiliar conception for the average mind. Furthermore, the equation E is equal to m c-squared , in which energy is put equal to mass, multiplied by the square of the velocity of light, showed that very small amounts of mass may be converted into a very large amount of energy and vice versa. The mass and energy were in fact equivalent according to the formula mentioned above. …“

What about empty space .. vacuum ? Physicists are telling us that there is something called “vacuum energy” which is “an underlying background energy that exists in space even when the space is devoid of matter”.

So, there we have it – all matter and all space is energy. The universe, it appears, is a sea of energy, with different intensity and condensation at different places.

So far, we have seen the physics’ point of view. Yoga science claims there is a further level of unification.

Sri Aurobindo explaining the essence of Yoga:

“The teaching of Sri Aurobindo starts from that of the ancient sages of India that behind the appearances of the universe there is the Reality of a Being and Consciousness, a Self of all things one and eternal. All beings are united in that One Self and Spirit but divided by a certain separativity of consciousness, an ignorance of their true Self and Reality in the mind, life and body. It is possible by a certain psychological discipline to remove this veil of separative consciousness and become aware of the true Self, the Divinity within us and all.” (complete works, volume 36)

Two important points are contained in this statement:

Point-1: Behind all the appearances of the universe, there is One Consciousness

While physics says “a unifying energy underlies everything in the universe”, Yoga goes a step further and says, “a unifying consciousness underlies everything in the universe”. What is the difference between these two ? When physics talks about “energy”, it connotes a non-conscious lifeless principle. Whereas “consciousness” connotes a conscious-principle. Big difference.

Einstein said : E = m * c-squared

Yoga says : U = E = m * c-squared. ( where, U = Universal consciousness ).

Physics claims mass-energy equivalence. Yoga claims mass-energy-consciousness equivalence. Physics says universe is a sea of energy. Yoga says, universe is ultimately a sea of consciousness. (see also: primacy of consciousness, by peter russell).

From the Yoga point of view, the subtlest underlying principle is “consciousness”, and hence it implies that “energy” (say, sun light energy) is only a gross form of consciousness. [ It is interesting that Einstein said in the above voice clip, “mass and energy are different manifestations of the same thing”, implying that there is a further common denominator to both matter and energy. ]

So, with the claim of Yoga included, following is the new spectrum from subtle to gross:

Point-2: It is possible for a human being to access that One Consciousness.

Our normal surface consciousness is at the right end of the spectrum – perceiving only diversity and gross phenomena. Yoga science says it is possible, through practice, to move to the left end – directly perceive the subtle unifying reality.

In the year 1950, in “a letter to a distraught father who had lost his young son and had asked Einstein for some comforting words”, Einstein wrote:

“A human being is a part of the whole, called by us “Universe,” a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. The striving to free oneself from this delusion is the one issue of true religion. Not to nourish it but to try to overcome it is the way to reach the attainable measure of piece (sic) of mind.” (This is from verified sources, which includes Einstein’s handwritten draft of the letter. source1, source2, source3).

It is interesting indeed that Einstein called our common experience of being “separate from the rest” as an “optical delusion of consciousness”. He recognized the importance of going beyond the normal surface consciousness. Very similar to Yoga thesis !

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PS: One of my recent interests is to learn modern physics, and try to integrate some of its ideas with Yoga science. I have to say though, at present I have only a layman understanding of physics. So this a rough starting template based on my current understanding. Hope to arrive at a clearer understanding over time, through study of physics and Yoga practice.

1. Ramana Maharishi — A short 10 min video about him.

2. Einsteins equation of life and death — BBC Horizon 1-hour documentary. A bit about E=mc2, and history/science behind the construction and use of first atomic weapon.

3. What is Reality ? — BBC Horizon 1-hour documentary on what physics says about ultimate nature of reality.

4. Primacy of Consciousness — Peter Russell presented this talk at “Physics of Consciousness” conference. He says consciousness is the fundamental unit of reality, and goes into some detail on how physics supports this idea.

5. The secret world of pain — BBC Horizon documentary on genetic, psychological and other aspects of physical pain, and current scientific research around it. A complementary to this video, is this sounds true podcast with Vidyamala Burch which discusses mindfulness based strategies to deal with chronic physical pain.