Machine Memory

  Future AI memory may become less like a database and more like a governed personal/organizational knowledge layer, with permissions, decay, provenance, and accountability built in.

Here is the epilogue of the book "Euclid and Jesus" by C. K. Raju. It provides a snapshot of history about the Christian dexterity in manipulating its metaphysics and infecting the discourses including mathematics with it.

"We can now put together all the pieces in chronological order. The tradition of mystery geometry or mathesis, which connected geometry to deep religious beliefs and practices , began in Egypt, in Africa, from where the Greeks learnt it.

That African tradition involved an underlying belief in the oneness of humanity, and of equity. This belief was propagated by the learned philosophers of Alexandria who maintained the Great Library of Alexandria. That library was seeded by Alexander’s loot of books, and it incorporated books from across the world. Some of these were translated into Greek by the philosophers. Egyptians encouraged learning for they regarded knowledge as the window to the soul and a means of virtue. But they imparted this real learning only to a tested few. The derived writings of Greeks like Plato spread this knowledge to all and sundry.

Early Christian beliefs were strikingly similar to those of the Egyptians and the philosophers (today called “Neoplatonic”). This similarity extended to beliefs about the soul, and even to the understanding of Jesus Christ (Iesu) as a mystical figure who resembles Osiris (Ausar). However, in the 4th c. CE Christian priests acquired state power. Christian doctrine was transformed to enable them to stay permanently in power. From a philosophy of love, Christianity was changed to a doctrine of doomsday and sin—notions which Christian priests could use as weapons to terrify people and rule over them.

The philosophers of Alexandria criticised the changes in religious beliefs which they saw as motivated by the Christian priests’ quest for power. Since the basis of church power was fragile, the priests were intolerant of this criticism, and retaliated violently. They physically attacked the philosophers, smashed their temples, and burnt all their books and libraries throughout the Roman empire. They smashed even the temple of Serapis and burnt down the Great Library of Alexandria.

Since the philosophers valued learning as the means to virtue, Hypatia sought to spread virtue using mathematics—the science of learning or the science of the soul. The present form of the Elements dates back to this process, initiated by Theon and completed by Hypatia. She aimed to demonstrate mathematics as the science of learning, which aroused the soul, proving the existence of past lives, as Socrates had argued. She aimed to explain, like Porphyry, that images (geometric figures, idols) were good since they facilitated learning; that God was not a powerful entity “out there” but was within (immanent); that all people were equal, in essence, just because all were equally a part of one God. The book Elements  was specially addressed to Christians, for its first proposition has the fish-figure, the secret sign that Christians made upon meeting each other. All this made the priests afraid that their lies would be exposed; they gathered a mob and lynched Hypatia.

Her successor Proclus carried forward her valiant efforts. He wrote a commentary which made explicit the mysterious significance of the Elements . He argued that since mathematical truths were eternal truths, the world itself must be eternal, contrary to the Christian belief in creation and apocalypse.

The priests responded by declaring philosophy itself heretical and shut down all schools of philosophy in the Roman empire in 529. This triggered off the Dark Age of Christendom.

The philosophers stuck to their beliefs, and moved on to neighbouring Persia, which was not theocratic. This was just a short while after the communist revolution of Mazdak. He had advocated not only equity but also common ownership of all property, and attained huge popularity before being violently exterminated. Accordingly, the philosophers’ idea of equity found ready resonances, and the philosophers were well-received by the then king of Persia, Khusrau Anoshirvan.

Nevertheless, because they came from an enemy country, at war with Persia, they were relocated to Jundishapur, a camp for captured Romans. Here they founded a hospital instead of a temple, as an equally good way to demonstrate their principles. Khusrau too adopted the practice of seeking out knowledge from all over the world, especially knowledge of healing. The art of healing then was holistic, incorporating both soul and cosmos. Hence this brought to Persia the Pañcatantra  fables, and astronomy texts from India, which were translated into Pahlavi. This emphasis on knowledge as virtue ushered in the Golden Age of Iran.

The Persian empire declined after Khusrau II, and was conquered by Arabs—whom it had earlier ruled. However, as was the case with Alexander’s barbarian invasion, military victory in one direction led to the flow of culture in the other direction. The Abbasid Caliphate at Baghdad relied on the Barmakids who continued the Persian methods of administration. Learned doctors (hakim -s) from Jundishapur found favour with Khalifas.

Subsequently, both Haroun al Rashid and al Mamun encouraged the philosophers. They too followed the tradition of importing knowledge from all over the world, culminating in the setting up of the Baghdad House of Wisdom (Bayt al Hikma). This championed the Islamic theology of reason (aql-i-kalam ) and rejected the literalist tradition as mindless and imitative (naqli ). The work of al Khwarizmi illustrates their mindset: though based on Indian arithmetic texts, it is not a direct translation of any specific Indian manuscript, but involves a creative reworking from several manuscripts. Thus, it is wrong to refer to these scholars as translators.

During this Islamic Golden Age, there was a great demand for books, and the Baghdad book bazaar did roaring business. The market encourages dishonesty, and this led to the proliferation of fakes. Manuscripts supposedly written by famous or ancient authors were passed off for a higher price. This particularly included books by Aristotle, a term which meant “ancient Greek sage”. This is how some 400 or more books came to be ascribed to Aristotle.

Constantinople was then a tributary of Baghdad, and imitated it. Consequently, many books were translated there from Arabic to Greek—this included the Indian Pañcatantra . The earliest text of the Elements , from 888 CE, probably derived from such a translation since all books unrelated to Christianity had been earlier declared heretical and burnt in Christendom. Had the text somehow survived underground in Christendom, it would not have been openly copied by an ambitious and prudent bishop, Arethas, though he could have imported knowledge—a tradition later also followed by the Roman Catholic pope Sylvester who imported “Arabic” numerals from Cordoba.

With the rise of the Umayyad Caliphate at Cordoba, the wealth and wisdom of the “Moors” came closer home to Western Christendom. The Christian priests now started eyeing Moorish wealth. They tried to acquire knowledge from Islamic sources, in various ways, and even sent a high-level delegation to Cordoba. During this time, Western Christianity had spread across Europe, by means of forcible conversions through the conquests of Charlemagne, instigated by the pope. With the elimination of its hate object—the pagans—the Christian church had become moribund, and the priests were in search of a new hate object and new conquests.

An opportunity arose with the decline of the Cordoba Caliphate in the 11th c. and its breakup into small taifas . An exploratory prototype Crusade had already been launched around 1060 against these wealthy but militarily weak taifas . The fall of Toledo was part of these Crusades even though that happened a few years before the official declaration of the first Crusade. Indeed, even to this day it is projected (somewhat hilariously) as “reconquest”, which puts it in the same category of religious warfare as the Crusades. Also the religious-war tactic of using an internal disaffected Christian population was used at Toledo just as it was used later at Jerusalem during the first Crusade. (This stock tactic was also explicitly advocated with respect to Indian [Syrian] Christians, and used by Vasco da Gama in his eventual alliance with them.)

In any case, the fall of Toledo brought its large library under Christian control. This presented both an opportunity and a problem. The opportunity was to grab the knowledge in those Arabic books, which knowledge could earlier be obtained only with great difficulty through delegations, spies and such like. The problem was that the sources of this knowledge were heretical. Delving into them was contrary to the centuries-old Christian practice of burning non-Christian books. Changing that book-burning Christian tradition was particularly difficult in the then-prevailing atmosphere of religious hysteria against Islam.

Eventually, after four decades, a simple solution was found: a fake ancestry was invented for this knowledge. It was given out that the knowledge in these books was all of early-Greek origin. The Arabs were portrayed as mere carriers of this knowledge, as were later-day “Greeks”, such as Theon or Hypatia, who opposed the church. The silliest imaginable artifices were used to concoct these early Greeks for the benefit of the overheated religious imagination: for example, the Arabic “uclides”, meaning “key to geometry”, was probably translated as the name of a Greek “Euclid” who authored the text called the Elements . This myth was then propagated for five centuries by identifying this fictitious “Euclid” with Euclid of Megara, a contemporary of Plato, who was innocent of any knowledge of geometry.

The laughable myth persists to this day that all world-knowledge was due to the theologically correct early Greeks. In addition to claiming a theologically correct origin for all world knowledge, the knowledge itself had to be made theologically correct. This was done in two steps. First, the Christian doctrine was again altered to suit the priests’ lust for power. Second, the incoming knowledge was reinterpreted to fit the changed Christian doctrine.

The priests who launched the Crusades initially aimed to conquer and convert Muslims violently, just the way pagans in Europe had been conquered and converted. However, after the first Crusade and beyond Spain, this tactic of propagating Christianity by military force failed because all the multi-nation forces of Christendom, put together, were militarily too weak then to conquer Muslims.

Accordingly, the only way left to convert Muslims was by persuasion, and the change in Christianity was designed to facilitate that. Since Muslims accepted only reason and not the Christian scriptures, the only way to persuade them was to use reason. Before that, however, reason had to be made part of Christianity. Accordingly, Christianity was changed into a doctrine of reason. This was done by “borrowing” the prevailing Islamic rational theology and “adjusting” it suitably. The resulting Christian rational theology of Aquinas and his schoolmen (post-Crusade theology) modified Islamic rational theology to make it compatible with the first (post-Nicene) alteration of Christianity.

Obviously, the post-Crusade idea of Christianity as a doctrine of reason did not fit any of the earlier ideas of Christianity as a doctrine of love, or a doctrine of doomsday and sin. A new gospel and a new messiah were required for this change.

When Christianity was first altered, in the 4th c., by changing reincarnation to resurrection, in order to bring in sin, doomsday, and eternal punishment, this had precipitated a religious war. Philosophers then had used mathematics to defend their notion of soul and to persuade Christians to stick to original Christianity. The Elements  was written for that purpose. Reason was seen as a means to reach the soul within.

However, Christian priests now wanted to convert and dominate Muslims by argument. Accordingly, reason was disconnected from the soul, and reinterpreted as just a “universal” means of convincing argument. Mathematics too was disconnected from “pagan” religious beliefs about the soul, and reinterpreted as just a doctrine of reason, meaning a way to teach methods of argument to priests. Attributing the Elements  to an unknown early Greek called “Euclid” facilitated this reinterpretation.

The belief that mathematics is just about convincing arguments or proof is thus a specifically Christian belief deriving from Crusading times, and linked to the priests’ agenda of world-power. When combined with the Christian belief in their own superiority, this led historians (even “enlightened” historians like Needham) to run down the idea of mathematics as calculation found in all other cultures. ²²⁹

After 350 years of bloody religious warfare, the Crusades effectively came to an end with the fall of Istanbul (Constantinople) to Mohammed the Conqueror in 1452. Constantinople, which had been the centre of Eastern Christianity for the preceding 11 centuries, had a large stock of books written in Byzantine Greek. Since Islam prohibits book burning, most of these books were sold off where there was a demand for them—in Europe. Thus, a flood of (Byzantine) Greek books from Constantinople arrived in Europe in the 15th c.

This was used to boost the Hellenization of history. No thought was given to the possibility that these later-day Byzantine Greek texts involved systematic translations from Arabic to Greek, such as the Arabic-to-Greek translation of the Pañcatantra  or the Syriac-to-Greek translations of Ibn Shatir used by Copernicus. Instead, all of these texts were portrayed with religious fervour as “original Greek” sources. Although the Greek texts of the Elements did not mention any Euclid, the Latin translations of these Greek texts stated that the text was authored by “Euclid of Megara”.

A further fillip was given to this Hellenization of history by later-day racist historians, who portrayed all world knowledge, before Christianity, as the work of the “Greek” race . The learned Egyptians, from whom the Greeks learnt, were erased because they were blacks.

By way of “evidence”, these racist historians produced stray remarks from mounds of Byzantine Greek manuscripts, which already incorporated a variety of myths. For example, the key evidence for “Euclid” still is just an isolated passage in a late text attributed to Proclus. This forged passage fixes the date of “Euclid” by a reference to Euclid in another stray remark in another late text fancifully attributed to Archimedes and so on. Needless to say, the slightest critical examination shows up these textual remarks as interpolations or forgeries that have nil value as evidence. Nevertheless, this religious-racist myth of the Greek origin of knowledge continues to be propagated by planting racist images of Caucasian stereotypes of these Greeks on the Internet and in present-day school texts.

What difference does it make whether or not this “Euclid” existed? Now, those who think it does not matter should not object to removing “Euclid” from school texts and casting this toxic myth into the garbage bin where it belongs. Instead of mentioning “Euclid”, these school texts should state that people mindlessly believed false history about “Euclid” for centuries.

“Euclid” is not an isolated lie; it is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg, the top of a whole dung heap of lies about history which the church told to justify that Christians were superior. The belief in racial superiority originated from the belief in Christian superiority. The very same false history was later used by Western “philosophers” like Kant and Hume to justify racism and to claim that white-skinned people were superior—the political power from that claim persisted until very recently in South Africa. Those who claim “Euclid” no longer matters should allow (in school texts) that “Euclid” was actually a black woman from Africa raped on a church altar and then lynched by a mob closely related to the one which burnt down the library of Alexandria.

What blacks, browns, “yellows”, “reds”, Muslims and Hindus need to understand is this: the false history of “Euclid” is part of a systematic technique of building power through lies which attack your self-esteem. Self-esteem is an intangible, but, like time in the game of chess, this intangible can be more important than material resources. This technique of attacking self-esteem was persistently used by a vast institution—the church—which is at the very core of Western civilization which it has dominated for centuries with its lies.

A key aim of this book is to expose this technique of building political power through lies which are then propagated through the education system, and maintained by a vast organized network of scholars, paid for that purpose. This book would have accomplished its purpose if people understand this technique of propaganda, and learn that it is dangerous to trust the West in any matter, without independent confirmation—independent also of Western-approved stooges who act as indigenous “experts”! Distrust and scepticism of the West is needed to break out from mind control through indoctrination instilled by the present-day education system designed by the church. Scepticism and distrust of the West is the key first step towards true emancipation.

Now, church violence was not confined to genocide and slavery, or to the invasion and capture of colonised minds. This violence traditionally extended to women, as in the numerous hapless women who were declared witches and burnt at the stake to establish church morality. But Hypatia is special. The church murdered Hypatia twice. The first time physically, and the second time by erasing her from history. Hypatia is also special because if the authorship of the Elements is allowed to Hypatia, then the Elements must be regarded as a “pagan” religious text, contrary to altered Christianity, the way Proclus interpreted it.

Attributing the Elements  to an unknown early Greek called “Euclid”, however, allowed the text to be reinterpreted in conformity with post-Crusade Christian theology. This reinterpretation negated all the points about mathematics dear to the philosophers, and projected the text as a universal means of persuasion, to fit the requirement of the priest. Eliminating “Euclid” changes the standard of secular and universal truth today, so it can no longer be determined in conformity with Christian metaphysics: for it was through this artifice of “Euclid” that “universal” reason has been made into a handmaiden of the church.

I hope this book has indicated how this handmaiden continues to be used today in the propaganda against Muslims through science. Those interested in further details should follow my more scholarly writings. However, the situation has changed since the Crusades. Then the Muslims were militarily dominant. Today, Muslim countries are so weak that they are being repeatedly invaded and their leaders killed, and puppet leaders installed. Worse, their persons have been invaded and their minds captured, creating a conflict within or a schism in the soul. Thus, they may call themselves Muslims, but they adhere to Christian metaphysics, and decide the validity of scientific theories by submitting them for Western certificates of approval. Indeed, that is today the government policy in Islamic countries, and one to which Muslim intellectuals in those countries are subjected. It is in the interests of Muslims to change those policies, for it is possible to reformulate both mathematics and science to free them from the influences of Christian metaphysics. Indeed, that has already been done, and hopefully this book will make more people aware of that.

Of course, Christians too should be aware that this “Christian” metaphysics differs fundamentally from early Christianity, as much as a doctrine of genocide differs from a doctrine of love. As this book has explained, original Christianity was repeatedly altered to suit the political and material interests of the church. So, the only grounds for this “Christian metaphysics” are that it contributes to the power of the church and its power-hungry priests. It is for Christians to decide whether they want to remain mentally enslaved to a church which has done such great damage to the original doctrine of universal love. They must understand that if they do, they would be partners in hate crimes against humanity.

For seven centuries, authorship of the Elements was attributed to “Euclid” to claim that the Elements  was a model of clarity, and that all others (Egyptians, Indians, Chinese, etc.) did not understand the right way to do mathematics. Eventually, in the 20th c. the West came to the curious conclusion that even “Euclid” did not understand the right way to do mathematics, and had blundered in his very first theorem, and in a key theorem known as the Side-Angle-Side theorem. These theorems used empirical proofs. But instead of dismissing the myth of the metaphysical proofs in the Elements , Western mathematicians like Russell dismissed those empirical proofs in the Elements  as a “tissue of nonsense” because they did not live up to the Western myth built around the Elements ! This is the hilarious basis of the current philosophy of formal mathematics, elaborated by Hilbert and Russell in the 20th c. This started being taught to children as the “new math” from the 1960s in the US.

Although not overtly motivated by any religious concerns, the religious biases in this formalist philosophy are apparent, and have been repeatedly pointed out over the last decade. Empirical proofs are universal, not metaphysical proofs; eliminating empirical proofs is contrary to all systems of Indian philosophy. Thus elevating metaphysical proofs above empirical proofs, as formal mathematics does, is a demand to reject all Indian philosophy as inferior. Curiously, like Indian philosophy, present-day science too uses empirical means of proof, so this is also a demand to reject science as inferior (to Christian metaphysics).

Logic is not universal either as Western philosophers have foolishly maintained: Buddhist and Jain logics are different from those currently used in formal mathematical proof. The theorems of mathematics would change if those logics were used. So, imposing a particular logic is a means of cultural hegemony. If logic is decided empirically, that would, of course, kill the philosophy of metaphysical proof. Further, it may result in quantum logic, similar to Buddhist logic. ²³⁰

This religious bias in present-day formal math extends also to the anti-Islamic postulates with which calculus is taught, as I have explained elsewhere. This business of metaphysical proof adds nothing to the practical applications of mathematics to science, for science, of course, accepts empirical proofs. So, it is quite possible to regard mathematics as an auxiliary physical theory.

But the dross of metaphysics does add to the difficulty of math, as Russell gleefully observed. The simple way out is to eliminate it. I hope this book has given some idea of how physical proofs can greatly simplify mathematics. Don’t expect the formal mathematicians in the system to support this proposition, for they would lose their jobs in the process. But watch out for my next book on how to teach calculus the easy way.

Colonial education globalised the church system of education. Many people today are concerned with the way that education system continues to indoctrinate people today. These people need to rise up and protest against this imposition. They need to point out that implanting religious biases through education is unconstitutional in many countries, and unethical everywhere. This book has hopefully helped them to understand those subtle biases in mathematics.

As for those young people who are victims of these biases, get rid of those biases even if they are forced on you by your parents. A simple way to do so is to ask questions. If the answers sound like story-telling, used to preserve lies, you know what trick is at work. Remember, they can’t capture your mind without your consent. Don’t give that consent: keep asking questions, and see how those stories fall apart.

After the Crusades, philosophy has been almost wholly taken over by priests, so priests and philosophers are friends once again. So, is that the end of the story? Did the priests ultimately win the epic struggle between priests and philosophers? No, for the battle goes on…. The new history has opened many future lines of development indicated above. This book has explained how mathematics and the Elements were reinterpreted, and how that has made mathematics—the science of learning—into such a difficult subject to learn today. Just as I am seeking to remedy those changes, others will seek to explore and remedy the parallel changes in Christian doctrine, and the Bible, which changed a mystery narrative of love into such a doctrine of hate and perpetual violence. The work of one Isaac Newton—who devoted a lifetime to document the alterations of the Bible—could be suppressed, but others will work at it. And the truth will surely emerge some day, not too far off.

The story is far from over, but remember that you will be one of the authors who completes it.

"

There may be multiple reasons behind the recent violent uprising in the country viz. Vested interests of national and regional politics, regionalism, Islamic fanaticism, woke liberalism and secularism, ignorance, accumulated frustration among some sections by last few important events(A. 370, Ram Janmbhoomi verdict, CAA, the threat of proposed NRC, Tripple Talaq etc, Modi's 2nd term) etc.
What I understand about one of the reasons i.e. 'Islamic Fanaticism' consuming masses is:

After a violent demonstration of what Islamic radicalism stands for in recent events, it is EACH ONE's responsibility to understand the threat, its tactics and put individual effort to resist this fervour. It is now at each one's doorstep. No city or area is spared.

This is not the first time that India is witnessing this kind to mass fanaticism. India has a long history of genocides, rapes, riots, loots, plunders perpetrated by Islamic fanatics. What gives it a chance to flourish is one's apathy to accept it. Get acquainted with the reasons and underlying concepts that lead to these activities out of a normal person. To understand this phenomenon, knowing the history of Kashmir can be of much help. Just in the last 650 years, from the torchbearer of Indian civilisation Kashmir became a hotbed of Jihad. What happened to Kashmir is not limited to Kashmir today. It has spread all over the land. Jihadi fanaticism at your doorstep is today's reality. So, learn about it to thwart it from every aspect of our lives. Break your inhibitions to discuss it in public. It is no longer a taboo subject. Read books, articles, watch informed videos, discuss in your circle what you learn. Let us ensure that our generation would be much informed on this subject than the previous ones.
I am jotting down some apprehensions about why any person will not want to learn about it and my answer to why he/she must. Some apprehensions are listed below. Please add to the list if you find a new one.
I don’t find "Islamic fanaticism" topic is important enough to learn about because:
1. It is not an urgent topic to ponder over
2. This doesn't affect me.
3. I am happy with my family, job and personal life. Why should I care?
4. It is not a very important topic on which I should devote my time. I have more important things to think of.
5. I don't find my friend/neighbor/colleague, who is a Muslim, having such mindset. So, I don't believe it as a threat.
6. I find Islam is a peaceful religion. These protesters are not following Islam.
7. I am not a Muslim. Why should I care for Islam?
8. I am a Muslim. I don't think anyone should get threatened about Islam. Miscreants are naïve people. Terrorists are not following Islam. Criminals are in every religion.
9. I am a Muslim. I find this concern important to discuss but I fear what my friends/family/relatives will think of me.
10. All religions are the same. We should also talk of radical Hinduism called "Hindutva" and Hindu Terror.
11. Our society believes in "Hindu Muslim Sikh Isai, Hum Sab Hain Bhai-Bhai" and Ganga-Jamuni Tahzeeb.
12. Our constitution talks of fraternity, liberalism, secularism. Targeting one religion is not as per constitutional ethos.
13. I think whenever this threat will come our government and police will tackle it. Why should I care then?
14. I think this is a recent event. It will end soon.

The conflict of Bodh Gaya

Bodhgaya is not, and never has been, only a Buddhist site. Hindus have been visiting Bodhgaya since at least the Buddha's own lifetime. It was one of the important stops along Sraddha(श्राद्ध) routes as testified by Agni Purana and Mahabharata that mentions the Mahabodhi Taru as a place to pay obeisance in the course of a Sraddha. It could be surmised that it was this significance of Gaya as the penultimate destination for Sraddha, for overcoming the fetters of death, that drew Sakyamuni to the place.
Beginning in the fifteenth century and extending into the twentieth, the site has been maintained by Saivite priests who trace their lineage to 1590, when Gosain Ghamandi Giri established a monastery at Bodh Gaya.
At the very center of sacred site of Bodhgaya stands the Buddha image. In popular cosmology this multivalent sacred space represents iconographic open-endedness, intermingled and blurred, drawn from a shared iconographic vocabulary. A single image is viewed and treated as representing or embodying two very different figures that are the Buddha to Buddhist pilgrims and Visnu to Hindu pilgrims. This is what bestows this ancient pilgrimage complex an aura and mystique that is unique and having a universal appeal.

Temple management: 

THE BODH GAYA TEMPLE ACT, 1949
 The temple is managed, on behalf of the Bihar government, by a nine-member committee headed by the district magistrate.
 As per the Act, only a Hindu can head the managing committee.
 The Act also specifies that if the district magistrate happens to be a non-Hindu, the state government has to nominate a Hindu to head the committee.
 According to the Act, the panel should comprise four Buddhists and four Hindus for a three-year period, with the Gaya district magistrate as its ex-officio chairman and the mahant (presiding priest) of the Sankaracharya Math (the Shaivite monastery at Bodh Gaya) as the ex-officio Hindu member.

Conflict:
But as per the current trends of alienating of Sampradaya originated from Sanatana Tradition from its roots prominent Buddhist figures(one of them is Bhante Anand - President of Akhil Bharatiya Bhikkhu Mahasangh) argue, "We are Buddhists, we have nothing to do with Hinduism. The birth place of Buddhism is controlled by other people. Hinduvta forces are doing everything to keep Bodh Gaya's temple out of the control of Buddhists. If such a situation continues, we will be forced to register a complaint with the UN high commissioner for refugees." Now, Bihar government is facing international pressure as well because of Buddhist presence in many eastern countries.
1. https://www.rediff.com/…/why-are-hindus-contro…/20170725.htm
2. http://deshkalindia.com/festival/history_and_context.pdf
3. https://www.bodhgayatemple.com/images/pdf/temple_act.pdf1
#SaveOurTemples

Future of Sanatan Dharma

The future of religion in the world will be Sanatan Dharma. But first let me say what I mean by Sanatan Dharma. The Sanatan Dharma will be an state of consciousness in which an individual's main goal will be to find the answer of existential question of life i.e. what is the purpose of life? Who am I other than this body and mind? And where will I go? And the individual will not be satisfied with any belief as propagated in any religion rather they will experience it by themselves. Development of science and becoming of it as currently the only Dharma which everyone accept and revere has paved the path of Sanatan Dharma to be revealed to the world. It is more so because the search of our existence has brought science to the cliff where there is no other option but to jump into the way of realization through spiritual processes/experiments where one need to go inside oneself to know the truth. It is so because through material experiments we cannot realize consciousness which is more fundamental than materials. Consciousness can only be realized through consciousness which each one of us are. So, increment in the number of other belief people should not be the primary concern of Hindus but it should be to kindle that quest in people to search for the truth and offer them the methods to experience the truth irrespective of their other states, be it financial, social etc. Till then conversion is an intermediate process and if it is satisfying the need of kindling that quest to know the answer then let it be so. The main purpose should be the elevation of consciousness of human race to get drive by seeking the truth.
My speculation is in past when Sanatan Dharma was on its peak the people who were key for the society to drive and sustain were on same state of consciousness all over the globe though they may be physically, geographically, culturally very much separated so much so that they would be not aware about one another's existence on this planet.
How the driving force of life i.e. seeking the answer for fundamental questions of life and keeping it as first priority of life vanished and thus various beliefs originated and spread which we today know as religion, I am not able to get. It may be that people who were on the forefront to keep this light in the heart awakened lost their prominence and thus people by default started seeking for material goals in life.

When consciousness grows

Today in the year 2011, one of the largest earthquakes of Richter scale 9 in human history hit offshore of northeast Japan, causing a massive tsunami that devastated surrounding coastal areas. Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster one the major implications. One of the many victims of this disaster was Nippon Paper Industries' Ishinomaki Paper mill. In the below images you can see the plant befor and after the tsunami which I have taken from the book 'Saving the Mill' currently I am reading. In those days NPI was the source of 40% of paper used by Japan's publishing Industry and Ihinomaki was the core production facility.
While going through the story I was amazed with the resilience and dedication of the Japanese society in common. Just imagine you are the incharge of the plant. then obvoiusly you will take responsibility of safety of all the people of the plant during a disaster. But think of factory guards, company's vehicle drivers etc. Will you be thinking of that you will take the responsibility of each one of the factory people to evacuate witnessing death inching towards you in the form of giant sea waves? Each one of the employee had so much respect for every human life and a dedication to help that no one of the factory got killed in this disaster.
After the tsunami was over the factory's leader announced that the mill will be producing paper again in just 6 months! Hardly any one believed. The city had no power, no water or any other basic amenities and it was a total mess. But the the leader had assumed the onus of saving their company, its people, their city and even the Japanese publishing industry and made it a shared vision of the employee's and fulfilled their commitment to their country. This is an unbelievable story of indomitable spirit.

Similar was the spirit of people of Vietnam and Laos after America imposed war on them and they defeated the mightiest country of the world at that time without any army, navy or air force of its own but just used bicycles and burrow tunnels! America dropped 270 million bombs, highest per square kilometer area bombed anywhere in the world history ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UM2eYLbzXg ) . But, against all odds, in the last 40 years both the countries have become economically significant in ASEAN.

So, when I see people making hue and cry about legacy of India and take it as obstacle in its growth and make Muslim invaders, Britishers and other innumerable factors responsible for them make me sad that we are just hiding our impotency to fight for life, fight for good and loosing an opportunity to giving our best in making this country a golden country again irrespective of our past.

Ishinomaki Paper Plant before tsunami

Ishinomaki Paper plant after tsunami

Bombs have now become an integral part of households in Laos

Today, I came across an amazing confession of a 27-year-old girl Holly Butcher from Australia who was facing cancer and just after posting this note in night she passed away next day. Her note is very much revealing of what life is and what we are doing with it. Sometimes DEATH teaches you the value of life.

Here it goes.

A bit of life advice from Hol:

It’s a strange thing to realise and accept your mortality at 26 years young. It’s just one of those things you ignore. The days tick by and you just expect they will keep on coming; Until the unexpected happens. I always imagined myself growing old, wrinkled and grey- most likely caused by the beautiful family (lots of kiddies) I planned on building with the love of my life. I want that so bad it hurts. 

That’s the thing about life; It is fragile, precious and unpredictable and each day is a gift, not a given right. 

I’m 27 now. I don’t want to go. I love my life. I am happy.. I owe that to my loved ones. But the control is out of my hands. 

I haven’t started this ‘note before I die’ so that death is feared – I like the fact that we are mostly ignorant to it’s inevitability.. Except when I want to talk about it and it is treated like a ‘taboo’ topic that will never happen to any of us.. That’s been a bit tough. I just want people to stop worrying so much about the small, meaningless stresses in life and try to remember that we all have the same fate after it all so do what you can to make your time feel worthy and great, minus the bullshit. 

I have dropped lots of my thoughts below as I have had a lot of time to ponder life these last few months. Of course it’s the middle of the night when these random things pop in my head most! 

Those times you are whinging about ridiculous things (something I have noticed so much these past few months), just think about someone who is really facing a problem. Be grateful for your minor issue and get over it. It’s okay to acknowledge that something is annoying but try not to carry on about it and negatively effect other people’s days. 

Once you do that, get out there and take a freaking big breath of that fresh Aussie air deep in your lungs, look at how blue the sky is and how green the trees are; It is so beautiful. Think how lucky you are to be able to do just that – breathe. 

You might have got caught in bad traffic today, or had a bad sleep because your beautiful babies kept you awake, or your hairdresser cut your hair too short. Your new fake nails might have got a chip, your boobs are too small, or you have cellulite on your arse and your belly is wobbling. 

Let all that shit go.. I swear you will not be thinking of those things when it is your turn to go. It is all SO insignificant when you look at life as a whole. I’m watching my body waste away right before my eyes with nothing I can do about it and all I wish for now is that I could have just one more Birthday or Christmas with my family, or just one more day with my partner and dog. Just one more. 

I hear people complaining about how terrible work is or about how hard it is to exercise – Be grateful you are physically able to. Work and exercise may seem like such trivial things … until your body doesn’t allow you to do either of them. 

I tried to live a healthy life, in fact, that was probably my major passion. Appreciate your good health and functioning body- even if it isn’t your ideal size. Look after it and embrace how amazing it is. Move it and nourish it with fresh food. Don’t obsess over it. 

Remember there are more aspects to good health than the physical body.. work just as hard on finding your mental, emotional and spiritual happiness too. That way you might realise just how insignificant and unimportant having this stupidly portrayed perfect social media body really is.. While on this topic, delete any account that pops up on your news feeds that gives you any sense of feeling shit about yourself. Friend or not.. Be ruthless for your own well-being. 

Be grateful for each day you don’t have pain and even the days where you are unwell with man flu, a sore back or a sprained ankle, accept it is shit but be thankful it isn’t life threatening and will go away. 

Whinge less, people! .. 

And help each other more. 

Give, give, give. It is true that you gain more happiness doing things for others than doing them for yourself. I wish I did this more. Since I have been sick, I have met the most incredibly giving and kind people and been the receiver of the most thoughtful and loving words and support from my family, friends and strangers; More than I could I ever give in return. I will never forget this and will be forever grateful to all of these people. 

It is a weird thing having money to spend at the end.. when you’re dying. It’s not a time you go out and buy material things that you usually would, like a new dress. It makes you think how silly it is that we think it is worth spending so much money on new clothes and ‘things’ in our lives. 

Buy your friend something kind instead of another dress, beauty product or jewellery for that next wedding. 1. No-one cares if you wear the same thing twice 2. It feels good. Take them out for a meal, or better yet, cook them a meal. Shout their coffee. Give/ buy them a plant, a massage or a candle and tell them you love them when you give it to them. 

Value other people’s time. Don’t keep them waiting because you are shit at being on time. Get ready earlier if you are one of those people and appreciate that your friends want to share their time with you, not sit by themselves, waiting on a mate. You will gain respect too! Amen sister. 

This year, our family agreed to do no presents and despite the tree looking rather sad and empty (I nearly cracked Christmas Eve!), it was so nice because people didn’t have the pressure of shopping and the effort went into writing a nice card for each other. Plus imagine my family trying to buy me a present knowing they would probably end up with it themselves.. strange! It might seem lame but those cards mean more to me than any impulse purchase could. Mind you, it was also easier to do in our house because we had no little kiddies there. Anyway, moral of the story- presents are not needed for a meaningful Christmas. Moving on. 

Use your money on experiences.. Or at least don’t miss out on experiences because you spent all your money on material shit. 

Put in the effort to do that day trip to the beach you keep putting off. Dip your feet in the water and dig your toes in the sand. Wet your face with salt water. 

Get amongst nature. 

Try just enjoying and being in moments rather than capturing them through the screen of your phone. Life isn’t meant to be lived through a screen nor is it about getting the perfect photo.. enjoy the bloody moment, people! Stop trying to capture it for everyone else. 

Random rhetorical question. Are those several hours you spend doing your hair and make up each day or to go out for one night really worth it? I’ve never understood this about females. 

Get up early sometimes and listen to the birds while you watch the beautiful colours the sun makes as it rises.Listen to music.. really listen. Music is therapy. Old is best. 

Cuddle your dog. Far out, I will miss that. 

Talk to your friends. Put down your phone. Are they doing okay? 

Travel if it’s your desire, don’t if it’s not. 

Work to live, don’t live to work. 

Seriously, do what makes your heart feel happy. 

Eat the cake. Zero guilt. 

Say no to things you really don’t want to do. 

Don’t feel pressured to do what other people might think is a fulfilling life.. you might want a mediocre life and that is so okay. 

Tell your loved ones you love them every time you get the chance and love them with everything you have. 

Also, remember if something is making you miserable, you do have the power to change it – in work or love or whatever it may be. Have the guts to change. You don’t know how much time you’ve got on this earth so don’t waste it being miserable. I know that is said all the time but it couldn’t be more true. 

Anyway, that’s just this one young gals life advice. Take it or leave it, I don’t mind! 

Oh and one last thing, if you can, do a good deed for humanity (and myself) and start regularly donating blood. It will make you feel good with the added bonus of saving lives. I feel like it is something that is so overlooked considering every donation can save 3 lives! That is a massive impact each person can have and the process really is so simple.Blood donation (more bags than I could keep up with counting) helped keep me alive for an extra year – a year I will be forever grateful that I got to spend it here on Earth with my family, friends and dog. A year I had some of the greatest times of my life... 

’Til we meet again. 

Hol 

Xoxo 

Born Free | Short Film | Sumeet Vyas, Mukti Mohan

Something to be looked upon.

Trust

Today I came across a conversation which compelled me to think how breach of trust has been perpetrated in the society by various elements and how is it affecting our day to day lives.

I was talking with a teacher of Central School, IIT Kharagpur. I wanted to start Sri Sri Sankar Kendra activities in the school. What she told me was shocking to me. She said, "even if your intention is noble and the principal has a high regard for IIT students he may reject your proposal"
I asked on what basis she is saying this. She told me, " The recent event at Ryan International School has perpetrated a shiver to school administrators and any principal will think n number of times to allow activities and people other than the scheduled by the School Committee. CBSE has sent 5 notices till now to each school and has warned against any such possibilities. It has made decision makers risk averge."

Yesterday, I was reading an article - corporate rules for happy life. I was shocked to see, "Trust nobody." as the first line of suggestions!

I was watching a talk of Captain Raghu Raman on Terrorism a few days back. What he revealed was amazing and far beyond any one's conscious thinking. A gory act of slitting the throat of a person by ISIS has far more effect on people's mind than the death of our security forces on daily basis combatting terrorists.

During my undergrad days, I conducted an experiment which I repeated at IIT Kgp as well. I wanted to assess the amount and frequency of loss when I trust that a person can't cheat my belongings.
I kept my singlet room door without locking it. Can you guess how many times I get cheated?
Zero.
Yes, can you believe?
No, because we have been asked to doubt on people around us from childhood. In a controlled boundary setup like an organization or a college, it makes the administrators' work easy and ensure accountability.

I wonder if I can't trust few people in my hostel for my belongings what kind of society are we living in. The how can you ensure a student to trust his teacher, an employee to trust his employer, a citizen to trust his nation. Mistrust is a dangerous poison whose effects are far-reaching than we can think.
Let us not lose our trust in our friends because one of them cheated you.
Let us not lose our trust in our teachers because one boy got killed in that school in their vigilance.
Let us not lose our trust in our caretakers, servants because one of them stole money from your house.
Let us not lose our trust in our doctors because one of them sold kidneys of their patients.
Let us not lose our trust in our bureaucrats because one of them asked bribe from us.
Let us not lose our trust in politicians because one of them looted the country.
Let us not lose our trust in ourselves because once a time you cheated yourself.
Look beyond that 'one of them', 'once a time'.
There lie the people who have trust in humanity, integrity, love, hard work and just need one gesture of your affection and trust to open before you, serve you in all the capacity they have.

Thanks Maa

Amazing acting of all five child actors. Tapori language along with purity in mind of a child has ornamented the script and showcased how much filth society has created. Thanks Maa https://youtu.be/-gqMUZMhg88

काशी की बात

आज जब यह short फिल्म देखी तो बनारस की यादें ताज़ा हो गयीं.

इन गर्मियों में काम के सिलसिले में बनारस जाना हुआ था. कानपुर से बस लेकर इलाहाबाद होते हुए बनारस पहुंचा था. रात के लगभग 1 बज रहे थे. बस स्टैंड से ओला ऑटो लेना उचित समझा. घाट से कोई 1 किलोमीटर पहले zostel नाम के एक हॉस्टल में रुकना हुआ. वहां तक पहुचते पहुचते हिचकोले खाती ऑटो में धूल फांकते बनारस का पहला दर्शन संपन्न हुआ. उतनी रात को राज भई ने एक कॉल में ही फ़ोन उठा लिया देखकर आश्चर्य हुआ. वह घर के पहले माले के ऑफिस में सोता था. दूसरा ऑस तीसरा माला मुझ जैसे अतिथियों के लिए तैयार कर रखा था. Hostelworld पर इतने कम भाड़े में रहने का प्रबंध देखकर चकित हुआ था मैं. इसलिए oyo की बुकिंग कैंसिल कर यहाँ आया था. जिस रूम में मुझे रुकना था उसमे कुछ विदेशी लोग थे और उस वक्त गांजा चढ़ा रहे थे. मेरी स्थिति को देखते हुए उन्होंने दूसरे कमरे में रुकवाना निश्चित किया. वैसे तो कमरे में AC का इंतजाम था पर नवोदय जैसे ऊपर और निचे बिस्तर वाले चार बेड लगे हुए थे. निचे कोई सो रहा था इसलिए मुझे ऊपर का बेड दिया गया. फ़ोन को चार्ज में लगा कर मैं सो गया. सुबह काम के सिलसिले में गंगा पार कर मुगलसराय होते हुए वहां से भिषमपुर जाना था. राज भाई ने बनारस का विस्तृत मैप वाला A2 साइज़ का एक पम्फलेट दिया जिसमे सारे घाट, मंदिर, खाने के नुक्कड़, रेस्टोरेंट, चाट, लस्सी के दूकान और रास्तों का विस्तृत वर्णन था. इसी उत्साह में मैं 6 बजे जग गया. वह मानचित्र लेकर मैं घाट की ओर चला. जैसे जैसे गंगा जी का किनारा पास आ रहा था भीड़ बढती जा रही थी. हवा में गोबर, धूल, कचौरियां , फूल, अगरबत्तियों का गंध मिलकर एक अलग ही सुगंध फैला रहा था, एक अलग ही तासीर. यहाँ बम्बई जैसी भागदौड़ नहीं थी न ही गाँव जैसा ठहरा हुआ समय. हर व्यक्ति अपनी गति से गतिमान था एक सहज भाव से. गाएं, कुत्ते, लोग, पक्षियाँ सब मिलकर एक हो रहे थे. शरीर में एक स्फूर्ति का एहसास हो रहा था, एक ठहराव, एक सहजता का वहीँ मन वातावरण में रमा हुआ था. सब्जी बाज़ार से होते हुए दसाश्वमेध घाट पर निकला और कुछ देर तक गंगा की अनुपम छवि को निहारता रह गया｡

A visit to a village like mine

I am working as an intern with Schneider Electric in market research and business development role. Project is named as ‘Access to Energy’ which expects me to do a market research for suggesting an offer roadmap for energy devices that can create a means of income to a family/household. This visit to Badayun along with Kanpur, Lucknow, Rae Bareli, Barabanki, Sitapur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Hardoi, Bareilley, Nawabganj is a part of the same research.

Access to Energy initiative within Schneider Electric, caters to the energy needs of the Bottom of Pyramid population by solar lanterns, solar home system, solar water pumps, microgrids & streetlights. The most sustainable way of making continuous business is to make offers (combination of products & services) which can provide means to an income for the family or household that buys our offer. This offer roadmap is targeted to states of UP & Bihar for the next 2 years based on the field research.

Recently I was in a village named Jhuksa, tehsil-Dataganj, an unexpected guest of Shri Mor Pal, Vimal, Dhanush Pal(a marginal farmer, 2-3 bigha land holding), 40 km each from Badayun and Bareli. Last evening, I met him traveling from Badayun to Dataganj in search of Khushhali Krishi Kendra (KKK, An initiative of the last government in UP). Dataganj is only 20 km from here but all public mode of transportation ceases to run after 6 pm. Till I reached Dataganj Mandi Krishi Kendra was closed and I had no way to reach back to Bareilly where I and my manager in Schneider Electric had been staying. When they got to know that I am concerned with development of farmers and surveying about them, their need in terms of energy in agriculture, household and business (if any), all three persons – a servant in fire department of Dataganj, a co-villager of Shri Mor and Mor Ji himself in the autorickshaw discussed the issues related to them in length and breadth. When I got concerned about whether I will reach KKK on time I discussed with them the servant extended his helping hand right there and told me to come to his quarter home if I weren't able to get transport to Bareilley. Also, he requested Mor Pal ji to take me along to the KKK. Mor Pal Ji escorted me to the place only to find it closed. I had no option but to return to Bareilley via the road which passes through his village. When I and the two villagers got down from auto he requested me a visit to his home and assess the condition of electricity there. 

Mor Pal Ji has 2 sons and 3 daughters. Elder daughter is married and is with her husband younger ones are with him. His elder son, Vimal, has appeared for class 12th board exam this year and is expecting to pass the exam. During a conversation with him I enquired whether he has seen a laptop and if seen has he used it. His answer was affirmative and negative respectively. He told me if he wants to learn there should be a center. Since these assets are costly a person like him cannot afford. There is no center nearby and he will have to go to Bareilley(40 km) to learn. But it seems more beneficial to him to work as a laborer for a mason and earn than to spend money on learning the computer. So, he is the second earning person in his family. Since his home is not connected to grid electricity because of corruption in subscribing to it and later paying even if some thieves get away with the cable connecting to the village they have not subscribed to it and only a LED light source lit for chores in the night. So, studying in the night is not an option. For home systems(inverter, module, battery, controller, and appliances) there is no financial support in terms of EMI or financing from the shop or any other agencies. There are no microfinancing companies working in the area. For a solar pump capital needed is around a lakh which only a big farmer can afford if need to pay at once.
I opened my laptop and surfed for Badayun district on Wiki. The page was in English and he was barely able to read it let alone understanding the stuff. I gave him to read the Hindi version of the same page and he clearly read and understood it. At that moment, I thought will he be able to cope up with increasing dominance of English in our life.

Vimal’s village has low penetration of solar equipment but streetlights are all solar powered. A milk collector from the co-operative has installed 200W system to run centrifuge and fat testing machines. More than 70% homes have not subscribed for electricity connection in the village even if the village is called electrified according to the government data. I was thinking how can a “Yojna” be successful if recipients are so clueless about it and future doesn’t seem any brighter keeping youth like Vimal in mind? There will always be a vast gap in government and agencies effort and ground result if very basic necessities like education, energy, healthcare are ineffective.

I left his home after discussing power and education status of the family and village and left for catching a transport to Bareilley. Mor Pal Ji escorted me this time as well. We waited till 8 pm for any medium to get back to my place but failed. Later, he insisted me to stay at his home and move to Bareilley in the morning as he was concerned with my safety in traveling not in a Roadways bus this time of the day. I accepted the offer and moved to his house.

We laid a cot in the front portion of the house where he keeps his cattle and fodder though a very tidy place. He requested me to change and be ready for dinner. ‘Aaloo ki sookhi sabzi’ with ‘paratha’ was waiting for us. During dinner and later as well we discussed many issues in detail with him and his son. I came to know that this area of Badaun has high crime rate and because of this, he insisted me to stay rather than go by any means to reach in haste. Now it was the time to lay in peace on the cot but mosquitos were playing their game. A net of georgette sari was arranged for my rescue. I had a comfortable sleep under stars after a long time.

In morning I was led to get fresh in ‘maidan’(around a KM from his house in open field). Fields were bare after wheat crop which compelled me to choose a corner behind Eucalyptus trees around a field. After reaching home during hand wash by mistake I used the soap which I think the family used to bath because Mor Pal Ji chose another one. Again, we sat for a ‘chai pe charcha’ with him and neighbors and got some photos clicked. Now it was the time to rush for auto to Bareilley. We bid a goodbye and before that I offered my contact number contact me whenever they feel I can be an instrument of help to him. He only asked whether will I recognize him if he calls me? I was grateful and speechless.

These incidences and situations happened with me are not unexpected for me and I think many of you readers. Many of us still come from this kind of background. The only difference is that we moved from Base of pyramid population to at least a middle-income family but many have to cross that silver line of education and opportunities.

I feel pity for students at premier colleges who look suicide as an option to get rid of problems. By these students’ intelligence, a big chunk of population would have chosen suicide in the regions other than Vidarbha but they see a hope in people like us in NGOs, government, companies and other institutions who are in a position to help them that someday they will be at par with us in opportunities and means.

I feel a need of volunteers dedicated to helping/empowering the people in villages like this in every corner of this country. Also, startups can play a vital role and some are already doing. Schneider along with Art of Living is opening electrical training centers for this purpose and Yuvacharyas in villages are playing their roles very efficiently. Many more need to come in this role.

Image1 :A makeshift to save panels from theft

Mor Pal Ji's younger son, I, Mor Pal Ji, Mor Pal Ji's cousin

A solar powered milk collecting unit in the village

Union Budget

Union budget of India has a long tradition of itself. It is the annual financial statement in the Article 112 of the constitution of India. The first union budget of independent India was presented in the parliament by the then finance minister R. K. Shanmukham Chetty in 1947.

From then onwards every year the budget has been announced with a little variation in format or time. From this year budget is being announced on 1^st of February in morning hours. The day of the month of budget declaration has been changed to keep a time buffer between declaration, implementation and monsoon in the country.

For the fiscal year 2017-2018 budget has been announced by the finance minister Arun Jetaly for the fourth time as the finance minister. This budget was primarily focused on 10 themes - farmers, rural population, youth, poor and underprivileged, infrastructure, financial sector, digital economy, public service, prudent fiscal management, tax administration – honouring the honest.

Major decisions for primary expenditure has been taken for rural and base of the pyramid population like allocation of Rs. 48000 crores for MNREGA and deduction in taxes from 10 % to 5 % for Rs. 2.5 Lacks to 5 Lacks income slab taxpayers. Also, fiscal deficit target has improved to keep at -3.2 % of the GDP. For pharma sector opening of 2 new AIIMS has been declared. For the first-time railway budget is not separate and is included in the main budget.

Due to upcoming elections in various stated, the finance minister refrained himself from declaring big and tempting moves. Rest of the declaration are quite aspirational and will surely be a profitable if implementation on a war footing.

India- 4th largest country in wind power

India has achieved the 4th position globally in wind power installation in 2016-17. The development of wind power in India began in 1986 with first wind farm set up in the coastal area of Maharashtra, Gujrat and Tamilnadu with a capacity of 55 kilowatts. The capacity has significantly increased from then to 27676 MW as of August 2016 and the target for the year 2022 is of 60,000 megawatts in which the main contributor states of Tamilnadu (11900 MW), Gujarat (8800 MW) and in Rajasthan (8600 MW).
As per the assessment of wind power potential in 2011 by Dr Jamai Hussain, India has a capacity to generate 2000 GW. To achieve this level of potential Ministry for Non-Renewable Energy is searching for other methods than off-shore power plants and has announced off-shore wind policy in 2015.
Wind power accounts for 2.5 % in the total power generation in India with an annual increment of 2050 MW for the last 10 years. However, 70% of wind power generation is during 5 month of May to September because of monsoon in which hydel power becomes cheaper due to the large availability of water. Major challenges in the development of wind power are the initial cost for turbines which is more than the hydel and conventional fuel generator. Another challenge is the noise due to blade rotation. It is also a major issue in choosing the location for plant installation. Another challenge is scheduling the wind power which is unpredictable in nature. When the stations are kept away from load centres the transmission losses incurred is a huge loss.
however, the various advantages of wind power against conventional sources are that it needs very less land compared to the Hydel or thermal power stations and it uses the space without affecting local vegetations.

Mobile Marketing

Any marketing activity performed to be consumed via a mobile device such as cell phone, tablets is called mobile marketing. This media of communication has a capability to provide customized and personalized information that promotes various marketing entities viz. goods, services, events, experiences, ideas etc. Rising presence of mobile devices everywhere and ability to gather personal data have made mobile marketing a lucrative tool of communication.

There are various features of mobile devices as a communication tool such as omnipresence, intimacy, wide distribution, easy delivery of content, customized content, targeted, convenience, two way communication channel etc. which has made mobile marketing an important marketing media. So, let us consider primary four characteristics which make it unique as a media. These are (a)Reach (b) Intimacy (c) Interactivity (d) Effectiveness

Reach

India has a population of around 1225M people out of which 907M have active mobile subscription as per November 2015. 462M (51% of all subscriptions) are active internet users. 371M (81% of active internet users) use internet on mobile and 150M people use social media via mobile with a yearly population growth of 39%. So, it presents opportunity for the marketer to reach a large audience.

Intimacy

Mobile devices are very personalized. It gathers unique information about the user which stores more personal or corporate data than ever before. Apps also tend to reflect the type of person user is, their interests, hobbies and social connections, making their devices more personal and intimate than ever.

Interactivity

A mobile device is a highly interactive medium. It facilitates two-way, multiple media communication (App-based, In-game, QR code etc.) which makes it interactive and effective.  A new research study co-authored by an Indiana University professor suggests that interactive applications for mobile phones such as Apple's iPhone and Google's Android may be some of the most powerful forms of advertising yet developed. Also, it increases customers’ interest in sponsoring brands.

Effectiveness

Effectiveness of mobile devices is always higher than any other form of media as data is immediately consumed. According to a survey by Deloitte 98 percent of people still open their text messages and, even though the number of people using SMS services has declined. Mobile Marketing Association’s (mmaglobal.com) ‘Mobile Marketing in India State of the Industry 2015’ report says 58% of marketers regard mobile as a ‘very important’ channel, while 47% say it has proven to be a ‘very effective marketing channel’.

However, there are certain challenges mobile marketers are facing. One of them is measurement of medium efficiency for calculating ROI. Unlike other mediums like TV, Print this industry doesn’t have any standardized framework to measure the efficiency. Also, increasing millions of apps in the store presents a challenge in promoting a mobile app.

But future of mobile marketing is bright.

Mobile banking has taken the country by storm, growing by 212 per cent growth in value terms in February 2016 over the same period in 2015 and by 131 per cent in volume. If used to its full potential, UPI can penetrate far more homes than all the mobile wallets put together.

According to Marc Mitchell, Co-founder & CEO at Lootsie brands and developers will start to function as partners to offer a unique user experience. Quality will continue to be more important than quantity, and bombarding users with display ads will be less and less of a priority.

For success of a business, understanding the customers’ tastes and preferences and directing marketing strategies around them is necessary.  Mobile devices becoming almost a necessity and emerging as that one most-preferred tool for customers to get all they want to, it is imperative that businesses smarten up and leverage the medium optimally to enhance their revenues. 

डायरी के झरोखे से - 2

आज आर्ट ऑफ़ लिविंग के जन्गुओं(जूनियर्स) ने विदाई स्वरुप पुरानी यादों में सराबोर कर दिया | टी-शर्ट, उपहार , विडियो , फोटो आदि के साथ-साथ पिछले चार वर्षों की अथाह यादों का तोहफा दिया | इस कॉलेज में बिठाये प्रत्येक क्षण के यादें स्वप्न लहरियों सी मन में तैर गयीं ....फिर से मेरी प्यारी डायरी तुम याद आ गयी .....स्वयं में यादों का ब्रह्माण्ड संजोये | आज बिठाये अमूल्य क्षणों को एक और समिधा स्वरुप डाल रहा हूँ जीवन रुपी यज्ञ में |

डायरी लिखने की महत्ता (08-09-2006)

       वापस चलते हैं सातवीं कक्षा में यानि 2005 ई. में |उस समय  विज्ञान में आये वह 57 अंक सुकून दिलाते हैं कि उनका कुछ न कुछ तो मेरे निर्माण में योगदान है ही| ऐसे ही कई अनुभवों का मिश्रण हैं मेरे संस्कार, मेरी आदतें , मेरे विचार | उस वाकये के तुरंत बाद वार्षिक परीक्षा आ गयी और मैं 85 % अंक पाकर क्लास में 3rd रैंक लाया | डायरी में से नोट करने वाली बात यह लिखी है कि “माँ-पापा मेरे रिजल्ट से नाखुश थे.....और मैं भी ! ” आज वह परीक्षा मेरे वर्तमान जीवन में रत्ती भर भी मायने नहीं रखती पर लगता है आज भी उनसे मिलती जुलती परिस्थितियों से निपटने का मेरा रवैया कमोबेश वही है |

           इस डायरी में ध्यान देने वाली मुख्य बात यह है कि पूरी डायरी का 70-80 % भाग उस वक्त मन में आये विचारों और भावनाओं पर मेरे उपदेश से भरा पडा है | दर्शन और तर्क शायद मुझमें जब से स्वयं के प्रति चेतना आई है तब से ही मेरे द्वारा अपना कमाल दिखा रही हैं | इन विचारों में धर्म ग्रंथों (गीता, उपनिषद् , रामायण –महाभारत ,वेद आदि ), प्रख्यात विचारकों और आम जीवन के अनुभव से उपजी विचारों की प्रधानता है | उन कई सारी बातों की व्याख्या तो मुझे अब जाकर गुरुदेव से प्रश्नोत्तर में मिलती है | 

जीवन में विभिन्न घटनाओं की सार्थकता

यथा 6-12-2005 को मैंने जीवन में घटित होने वाली प्रमुख घटनाओं यथा नौकरी, विवाह, बच्चे आदि की निरर्थकता की बात की है | उस वक्त उपजी वैराग्य की भावना के बारे में जान मैं आज भी रोमांचित हूँ | कई बार तो मेरी इस प्रवृत्ति ने हास्य रूप ले लिया | 9th क्लास में चंदा(रूपा) की डायरी में नरला से आते वक्त मैंने ऐसा कुछ लिखा था जो मुझे साफ़-साफ़ तो याद नहीं पर जीवन से जुडी कुछ गंभीर बातें थी | उस वक्त ऐसा साहित्य और ऐसी समझ लोगों को भौचक कर देती थी पर मेरे लिए सामान्य थी | 10वीं में आलोक की डायरी में भी ऐसा ही कुछ लिखा था मैंने(एक शब्द “पराकाष्ठा” याद है मुझे) |

         जहाँ तक अध्यात्म और अध्यात्मिक जिज्ञासा की बात है 3-12-2007 को उल्लेख है : Why instead of more civilized society relation between two human beings is worst? Why the word ‘progress’ comes with devastation in real life? और भी ऐसे कई प्रश्नों का उल्लेख है |

13-03-2005 को दो बातों का उल्लेख है –

   1)   मेरा ध्येय
   2) प्रेम और कर्तव्य का जीवन में स्थान

पूरे 20 साल में लक्ष्य निर्धारण में आश्चर्यजनक बदलाव आयें हैं | सर्वप्रथम बचपन में साइंटिस्ट बनने के सनक थी पर छठी क्लास तक आते-आते न जाने यह सपना कहाँ फुर्र हो गया | आगे आने वाले वर्षों में यह उत्तम मामू को देखते हुए एयरफ़ोर्स टेक्निकल ऑफिसर में तबदील हो गया | 9वीं और 10वीं में IIT के बारे में काफी बड़ाईयां सुनने को मिली तो ध्येय ने इंजिनियर बनने की ओर करवट ले लिया | पापा अक्सर मुझे IAS ऑफिसर बनने की सलाह देते थे.....7th-8th में तो मैं EYE VIEW नामक सैम-सामयिकी पत्रिका भी पढता था पर बाद में ये ख्याल गुल हो गया | ट्युसन पर इस बात की चर्चा होती थी तो कहते थे “कोई एक (इशारा मोना की तरफ होता था) डॉक्टर भी तो चाहिए वरना बुढा पड़ने पर मेरा, झा सर का इलाज़ कौन करेगा!? उस समय तो पास में पैसा होगा नहीं तो फ्री तो तुम्ही लोग इलाज़ करोगे न ” | पर डॉक्टर या IAS बनने  का ख्याल हमारे लिए ज्यादा दिन टिका नहीं | सो अब सबसे छोटी बहन को डॉक्टर बनाना चाहते हैं .... हा हा हा.... कितनी आशा और विश्वास से पालते हैं माता-पिता हमें ! 10वीं में कुछ दिन SCRA का ख्वाब जाने कहाँ से जगा था जिसका उल्लेख मैंने आलोक की डायरी में भी किया था उस वक्त पर फिर सब कुछ शून्य हो गया | अब तो ध्येय के नाम पर कर्तव्य और धर्म पालन ही बचा है....आशा है यह लम्बा साथ निभाएगा |

             और प्रेम और कर्तव्य के चर्चे में मैंने कर्तव्य को प्राथमिकता देने की बात लिखी है | शायद उस समय तक प्रेम का अर्थ मेरे लिए रिश्तों से जुड़े प्रेम तक ही सीमित था |

इस ब्लॉग में कुछ गंभीर विषयों पर चर्चा करते-करते थोडा बोरिंग बना दिया मैंने पर अगले अंक में मैं हाज़िर हूँगा अपने खुराफाती कारनामों के इतिहास के साथ और नवोदय के दोस्तों से से जुडी कुछ मसालेदार यादों के साथ |

To Be Continued....