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149. Ram Nam is superior even to the Lord Himself
150. Deadly consequences of mobile use
151. U.S. papers hope to reverse decline with new revenue sources152. Corruption in India a ‘fact of life’, say U.S. diplomats
153. Gandhi Book Spiritual Awakening in Gandhi and other Indian Saints (By R.D. Ranade)
154.
Ram Nam is superior even to the Lord
Himself
Ram Nam Nam Nam
Sri Rama is all-pervading; He is in the heart of all
beings as the Antaryamin. What a power and glory should His Name possess! Even
ordinary names of things of the world have the power of stimulating a
corresponding mode of consciousness in man. How much more powerful should the
Name of God be!
Saint Tulasidas says: The name is even superior to
the Lord, because the Nirguna and Saguna aspects of Brahman are tasted and realized
by the power of the Name. Rama delivered a single woman, Ahalya, while His Name
has purified crores of wicked people. Rama gave salvation to two of his
faithful servants, Jatayu and Sabari, but His Name has been the savior of
countless wicked persons. Blessed is the son and blessed are his parents who
remember Sri Rama in whatsoever way it may be. Blessed are even the Chandalas
who repeat the Name of Rama day and night. What is the use of high birth to one
who does not repeat Ram Nam
What a mighty power is latent in Ram Nam
The moment you utter the word Rama, the form of the
Lord is aroused in your consciousness. So the advanced devotees say that the
Divine Name is the exclusive support of those afflicted by the tribulations of
Samsara.
The idea of the Divine Being generated in the mind at
the time of the repetition of the Name, gives a direct fillip to the mind in
its attempt to unite itself with the Divine Being. The nervous system is in a
state of perfect harmony when the vibration produced by the chanting of the
Divine Name pervades it with a force of integration. The Divine Name is not
merely a sound; it is a force which can overcome all the destructive forces in
the human system and render it pure and make it fit for the experience of
Sattva, the highly transparent medium through which the Immortal Being is
reflected.
Ram Nam Nam Nam Nam
Ram Nam Nam Nam Nam
Excerpted from the book
‘Beauties of Ramayana’. Ram Navmi will be celebrated on April 19
****
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April 10, 2013 06:59 IST
Deadly consequences of mobile use
Increased mobile phone usage while driving, crossing roads and railway tracks has led to a spurt in accidental deaths in the past three years. The number of casualties have gone up from one every six minutes in 2010 to one every three minutes now.
This was revealed in a survey undertaken by the Trauma Centre at All-India Institute of Medical Sciences here which delved into the cause of death of patients who were taken there.
To create awareness about the issue, the Trauma Centre has started observing an Injury Prevention Week from this year.
“In 2010, there used to be one death on the road every six minutes and now that frequency has gone up to one every three minutes. So in view of the rise, the Trauma Centre started taking the history of the victims and found an increasing role of mobile phones in the accidents. We also found that rail track injuries were high among people walking with ear plugs in their ears and similarly a large number of people were getting hit on the roads while talking on phones,” said organising secretary of the programme, Nirmal Thakur.
Ms. Thakur said it was under the guidance of Trauma Centre head M. C. Thakur that the national public awareness programme called Pyramid of Injury Prevent (PIP) India was launched. “For this we made a logo; saw the nature of injuries in pregnant women, mothers, children youth and elderly; and tried to identify the reasons of injury.”
The findings were very revealing. “Children normally fall from a height while flying kites or due to low parapets. Similarly, many were hit by vehicles while playing cricket on the roads.”
To target the young, who often end up with cases of amputation, double amputation or even triple amputation, Ms. Thakur said the Trauma Centre decided to rope in young cricketer and captain of World Cup-winning India Under-19 team Unmukt Chand as its brand ambassador.
“We have shot a documentary with him during a road show and he interacted with a number of children during the PIP Injury Prevention Week which culminated on Sunday,” she said, adding that the AIIMS Trauma Centre would now celebrate this week every year to increase awareness about injury prevention.
Among the programmes which were organised as part of the prevention week this year were a blood donation camp, a drawing and painting competition for children “to judge their thoughts” and lectures in various schools.
Delhi University students were also engaged in the programme along with National School of Drama students who were trained on injury prevention. They later staged street plays at busy places like India Gate, Red Fort and Connaught Place Central Park.
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April 9, 2013 23:18 IST
U.S. papers hope to reverse decline with new revenue sources
There is a whiff of fresh air for the U.S. newspaper industry which has for long been buffeted by reports of imminent demise, and figures of drastically declining revenue.
The findings of the Newspaper Association of America (NAA) released on Monday suggest that while traditional print advertising continues to dip, newer categories of revenue — particularly through circulation and digital marketing services — are emerging, throwing up the possibility of a robust reversal in the decline of the industry.
The NAA compiled data from 17 companies, publishing 330 papers, which represent 40 per cent of the weekday print circulation in the U.S. and about half the newspaper media revenue. The names of the companies were withheld. After including new revenue categories, which was not tabulated until this year, the NAA concluded that media revenue for 2012 was $38.6 billion. This is a drop of 2 per cent compared to 2011, which experts say is less than expected.
Print newspapers contributed 46 per cent of the total revenue compared to 49 per cent in 2011. Circulation makes up 27 per cent, digital advertising 11 per cent, new revenue sources 8 per cent, and marketing and other services contribute another 8 per cent to the revenue kitty.
Digital ads and circulation
Advertising in print dailies dipped by 9 per cent; the drop was secular across retail, national and classified categories. But digital advertising rose by 4 per cent. This now accounted for 17 per cent of the ad revenue for the 17 companies which participated in the study.
But variations among the different publications showed ‘different approaches and market can have substantially different impact on the bottom-line’.
With circulation revenue rising 5 per cent in 2012, the study said, “The online subscription model is vital to newspaper media’s future, particularly as consumers begin to adapt to reading newspaper media on mobile devices, especially tablets.” Twelve companies provided detailed breakdown, which showed that digital-only circulation revenue increased by 275 per cent; this however constitutes only 1 per cent of the total circulation revenue. The print-cum-digital bundled revenue, for its part, grew by 499 per cent. This is significant when compared with the fact that print-only-circulation revenue dipped by 14 per cent.
Newspapers are also adopting newer revenue models, including digital agency and marketing which “helps local businesses market their products, particularly digitally, in social and mobile,” and e-commerce “helping businesses connect directly with consumers.”
Revenues for nine companies saw a growth of 91 per cent in the digital marketing category.
Cautious optimism
The findings come a month after another research by PEW Research Centre had shown a crisis in American media, with newspapers employing 30 per cent less journalists compared to 2000.
It also highlighted a drastic reduction in news-reportage across mediums. Many traditional outlets are undergoing a transition.
The Newsweek shut down its print edition; The New York Times introduced a pay-wall for online content; The Boston Globe has undergone a major organisational restructuring to survive.
In a commentary on the NAA findings, Rick Edmonds, an analyst, wrote for the media institute, Poynter, “Results show the industry doing considerably better than the doomsters say, with at least a chance to turn total revenues positive this year or in 2014. That will not happen, however, if the shift from print advertising to an array of digital marketing options accelerates.”
Ken Doctor, an expert on the digital news industry, pointed out in a post titled “NAA findings: Been down so long looks like up to publishers’ for his site, newseconomics.com, “In a time when reader revenue is what is working…publishers have got to figure out how to spend more on that single source of growth: readers.”
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April 11, 2013 04:47 IST
Corruption in India a ‘fact of life’, say U.S. diplomats
“American interference” was the political catchphrase of the 1970s. With Indira Gandhi’s claims of a “foreign hand” and allegations of CIA-funding against her, it was easy to believe that a vast American conspiracy was active backstage to the great Indian tamasha.
But the Americans themselves saw a different villain, according to a U.S diplomatic cable sent from New Delhi during that period: “India’s ‘united givers fund,’ the Congress party.”
Its “collectors” — sometimes “politicians themselves, sometimes a ‘bagman’ for the party, sometimes, most recently, eve[n] a bureaucrat” — approach large and small firms alike, says the cable, accessed and released online by WikiLeaks.
It is in this July 7, 1976 communication (1976NEWDE09954_b, Secret) that the Americans first reveal that Sanjay Gandhi’s Maruti was seeking to be an agent for the British Aircraft Corporation, as already reported by The Hindu.
The cable was a response to a State Department request for a comprehensive assessment of India’s anti-corruption laws as inputs into a U.S. plan then for an “international agreement on illicit payments.”
But, the Embassy wrote, such a “comprehensive inventory may give the misleading impression that corruption/illegal payments are well under control in India.”
In fact, as the cable put it, the Indian experience had led the Embassy to the “cynical conclusion” that in India “there is a direct and positive relationship between laws against corruption and the extent of corruption itself, i.e., each such law only means that there are more people to bribe.”
The communication dismisses with disdain the “anglo-saxon legalistic” mindsets back home in the U.S that won’t understand the “cultural/political/economic fact of life” that was corruption in India, and sounds almost respectful of the discerning Indian who distinguishes “between corruption for political purposes and that for personal purposes.”
“It is more acceptable to take money for the Congess [sic] party than for one’s own personal comfort. While it is illegal for a corporation to make a contribution to a political party it is perfectly legal for the same corporation to make an equal payment to the Prime Minister’s relief fund or other organization which essentially serve the same purpose. It is legal to purchase advertising in party publications whether or not they are ever published.”
And then there are the acceptable levels and modes of corruption. “‘Speed money’, a small payment required to move papers, secure admission to a hospital, obtain a train ticket, etc. This is illegal but not considered corrupt since it is supposed to balance the niggardly income normally given to recipients of such payments. Similarly, nepotism, whether it benefits one’s family, caste or language or regional group is considered acceptable.”
The embassy acknowledges that “for the anglo saxon mind and the treasurer of a multinational corporation these distinctions are important” but “to the Indian realist they are sophistries.”
Of course, there is the occasional backfiring. “An Indian manufacturer paid a substantial bribe to the minister of civil aviation for a particular contract.” However, “the project became a source of controversy for reasons which had nothing to do with the bribe. The minister sought to return the bribe but the donor insisted on interest.” Finally, “a compromise was reached whereby an additional contract was awarded [to] the manufacturer.”
The ‘innovative’ Indian method of awarding contracts to the favoured bidder is explained in the words of a World Bank official “with extensive experience in India.” He “had never seen a case where an original low bidder ever received a contract” since “repeated tenderings combined with specification changes are instituted by the GoI until the appropriate bidder becomes low bidder as well.”
The examples of corruption coincide with the Emergency, still fondly recollected by some as when government offices actually worked and the babus flinched on being offered bribes. The embassy finds no evidence that corruption levels came down during this period.
As a prelude to this assessment, the embassy acknowledges the impossibility of putting the “extent and modalities of corruption in India” in one message. It also adds that “corruption is not a phenomenon which was brought to India by the West” since various kinds of corruption and corresponding punishments are prescribed by Kautilya in Arthashastra.
However, it does acknowledge that “the foreigner is an active participant in this form of activity, and in many ways is a preferred player.” The ace up his sleeve is, of course, “foreign resources.” “A contribution of foreign exchange in a foreign bank account is of high value and normally accompanies any major international transaction.”
In view of all this, the embassy’s suggestion to the State Department on the international agreement on illicit payments is that if “such a code ... is passed, US firms in India would probably lose some business while India goes on as before.”
___________________________________________
India
Spiritual Awakening in Gandhi and other Indian Saints
By R.D. Ranade
Beyond this rational point of view Mahatma Gandhi
stresses three more
important points, economic, moral and spiritual, in
order to advocate
the efficacy of the Charkhâ. Mahatma Gandhi tells us
that he could
safely predict its great function even before he was
able to see it.2
Until the year 1909, he tells us, he had not seen the
Charkhâ and had
confounded it with a handloom: but he was so fully
convinced about its
utility that he had no hesitation in advocating it.
The economic aspect
must be first looked to.3 A poor man’s hunger cannot be
assuaged by
________________________________________________________
are many and various; that the lines of its moulding
must be shapely and
precise; that if there be anything faulty, it will fail
to make good music… that all
laws of science and technique of art must be rigorously
and intelligently followed.
(Beauty and Austerity) (p.429, Modern Review,
Oct.21-Tagore)
(1) It is good therefore that the Poet has invited all
who are slavishly mimicking the
call of Charkhâ boldly to declare their revolt.Let him
go deeper and see for
himself whether the Charkhâ has been accepted with
blind faith or from reasoned
necessity. (Young India
(2) I have again and again appealed to reason, and let
me assure him that if happily
the country has come to believe in the spinning wheel
as the giver of plenty, it
has done so after laborious thinking, after great
hesitation. (Young India
(13.10.21.)
(3) I had not even seen a Charkhâ when I first
advocated its use. In fact, I called it
a hand-loom in Hindi Swaraj in 1909, not knowing a
spinning wheel from a
hand-loom. (Visit to Bannu N.W.F. 1938).
In fact the economic finds its consummation in the
moral. The Charkhâ
might be regarded as a symbol of non-violence.6 It
is not my invention.
singing a song from Kabir.1 Hungry I was,
says the Bible, and you fed
me not; naked I was and you clothed me not. These are
the barest
essentials of life and any scheme which does not look
to the fulfilment
of these is hardly worth its name. We must indeed
learn to live before
we can hope to die for humanity.2 Dr. Tagore’s
bird can fly into the
free air if it is fed, but a bird which is starving
can hardly be coaxed
even into a flutter of its wings.3 In losing the
Charkhâ we have lost our
left lung and have developed a galloping consumption.4 Therefore I
appeal to the poet sage, says Mahatma Gandhi, “ to
spin the wheel as
a sacrament.” The moral aspect is not less important
than the
economic.5
In fact the economic finds its consummation in the
moral. The Charkhâ
might be regarded as a symbol of non-violence.6 It is not my
invention.
_____________________________________________________________
(1) I have found it impossible to sooth suffering
patients with a song from Kabir.
(2) India
‘I was naked and you clothed
me not;’
‘I was hungry and you gave
me not to eat.’
The Bible (Young India
(3) True to his poetical instinct the Poet lives for
the morrow and would have us do
likewise. He presents to our admiring gaze the
beautiful picture of the birds
early in the morning singing hymns of praise as they
soar into the sky. These
birds had their day’s food and soared with rested wings
in whose veins new
blood has flown during the previous night. But I have
had the pain of watching
birds who for want of strength could not be coaxed even
into a flutter of their
wings. The human bird under the Indian sky gets up
weaker than when he
pretended to retire. (Young India
(4) I claim that in losing the spinning wheel we lost
our left lung. We are therefore
suffering from galloping consumption. (Young India
(5) I do indeed ask the Poet and the Sage to spin the
wheel as a sacrament. (young
(6) Economics that hurt the moral well-being of an
individual or a nation are immoral
and therefore sinful. (Young India
“God whispered into my ears, says Mahatma Gandhi,
nothing
great could be achieved unless one cares for the
smallest thing.
God hangs the greatest weight upon the smallest pegs.”
My discovery consisted only in linking it with
non-violence.1 ‘It would
pain me’, says Mahatma Gandhi , ‘to behave like a
patron of the
poor.2 I must associate myself with the lowliest in order
that they might
feel themselves one with me. Through them also, in
this way, I might
establish a contact with the whole of humanity.3 The Charkhâ
might be
taken to be a symbol for all moral virtues.4 As regards its
spiritual
aspect, Mahatma Gandhi quotes an English lady. He
tells us how the
sonorous tunes of the Charkhâ filled her always with
tender emotions
as it did the heart of every Indian woman in India
their beautiful songs to the tune of the Charkhâ. ‘I
have no difficulty in
imagining the possibility’, says Mahatma Gandhi, ‘of a
man having
nothing but a bit of flint and dial for lighting his
path or his matchlock,
ever singing new hymns of praise and delivering it to
an aching world a
message of peace and good-will upon earth.5 God whispered
into my
ears, says Mahatma Gandhi: “Nothing great could be
achieved unless
one cares for the smallest thing. God hangs the
greatest weight upon
__________________________________________________________
(1) The Charkhâ is not my invention. It was there
before. My discovery consisted
in linking it to the programme of independence and
non-violence. (Visit to
Bannu N.W. F. 1938).
(2) … I will not commit the sin of becoming their
patron. (Young India
Reply to Tagore).
(3) We should all do the labour that the poor must do
and thus identify ourselves
with them and through them with all humanity.
(4) Later on he discovered the tremendous power hidden
in the Charkhâ. That
power was the power of non-violence. If it meant
non-violence, as it did, it also
meant a moral life. (Delhi
(5) There is a music about the spindle which the
practised spinner catches without
fail. (Young India
spinning wheel the women will sing their beautiful
song, tell their stories of old
and the beauty and contentment of simple home life will
be renewed. If I had the
gift of a poet I would sing the song of the spindle
wheel, of its beauty and its
usefulness, of its poetry and its religious value. But
I am not gifted. The song is
singing in my soul (Young India, 29.6.21)
My God is myriad formed and I see Him in the spinning
wheel; and that is how I establish communion with Him
according as the spirit moves me (Harijan, 8.5.37).
the smallest pegs.”1
The spiritual tunes of the Charkhâ have
made me
see the myriad-formed God in the Charkhâ. It is to me,
a complete
symbol of rational, economic, moral and spiritual
perfection.”2
___________________________________________________________
(1) God whispered into my heart, ‘ If you want to work
through non-violence, you
have to proceed with small things, not big”. (Visit to
Bannu N.W.F.)
(2) My God is myriad formed and I see Him in the
spinning wheel; and that is how
I establish communion with Him according as the spirit
moves me (Harijan,
8.5.37).
______________________________________________________
Singapore
Mall Nation
Within minutes of landing in this island nation, I felt I was passing through a gigantic mall. The city was an extension of the airport. I lowered the taxi window to let the wind whip my face and suggested that the driver turn off the air-conditioning. After all, it was a lovely 30 degrees. He grunted and made me roll up the window. I was soon to realise that every indoor space in the city was air-conditioned. That evening, I was told by a friend about the work of Cherian George, a local academic and author ofSingapore: The Air-Conditioned Nation (2000). Seems Lee Kuan Yew believed that the tropical climate made people lazy, and decided ACs would make them productive, efficient. Not just the air, everything here is conditioned. I gaped at trees that appeared too reticent, too conscious of spreading their branches. I was hosted by the National University of Singapore where I was to give a few lectures, on Ashis Nandy’s recent utterances, the Ambedkar cartoon and suchlike. I began one of my presentations with a lesser heard sound bite from Nandy at the same Jaipur festival where he otherwise mouthed nonsense: “The only country which I know is close to zero corruption is Singapore and that’s not part of my concept of utopia, it can be very much a part of my concept of dystopia.” A few days inSingapore
Nothing to crow about
As I walked the city, I kept drawing the attention of my friends to things that did not seem odd to them at all. I was fascinated by howSingapore Delhi Singapore
Only death frees you
Singapore Cuba Bangladesh Singapore Singapore India
An iPad for your effort
How do you get citizens to conform? Like inIsrael India India
refused, and they secretly turned to Israel
A friend took me to
Little India
The streets were messy. The Tamils even had a Tasmac wine shop and open bars. I felt at home.
Former Madras
KRISHNA JOSHIMUMBAI , INDIA
Outlook/ LAST PAGE
Within minutes of landing in this island nation, I felt I was passing through a gigantic mall. The city was an extension of the airport. I lowered the taxi window to let the wind whip my face and suggested that the driver turn off the air-conditioning. After all, it was a lovely 30 degrees. He grunted and made me roll up the window. I was soon to realise that every indoor space in the city was air-conditioned. That evening, I was told by a friend about the work of Cherian George, a local academic and author ofSingapore: The Air-Conditioned Nation (2000). Seems Lee Kuan Yew believed that the tropical climate made people lazy, and decided ACs would make them productive, efficient. Not just the air, everything here is conditioned. I gaped at trees that appeared too reticent, too conscious of spreading their branches. I was hosted by the National University of Singapore where I was to give a few lectures, on Ashis Nandy’s recent utterances, the Ambedkar cartoon and suchlike. I began one of my presentations with a lesser heard sound bite from Nandy at the same Jaipur festival where he otherwise mouthed nonsense: “The only country which I know is close to zero corruption is Singapore and that’s not part of my concept of utopia, it can be very much a part of my concept of dystopia.” A few days in
As I walked the city, I kept drawing the attention of my friends to things that did not seem odd to them at all. I was fascinated by how
How do you get citizens to conform? Like in
The streets were messy. The Tamils even had a Tasmac wine shop and open bars. I felt at home.
Letter in response to this article.
Thank
god you visited Little India I am sure the chai and also feeling
that a woman could get gangraped made you feel really at home! Try not
being the poor defensive Indian male cause nobody takes you seriously...Do
I see a pattern here between all the male outlook diarist like MSA,
this guy, etc. ?
Go
abroad, trash everything one finds out of place and then wax nostalically about
things back home. MSA finds fault with Americans talking aggresively to their
"Social superiors" and then let us know
that the filth infused food of the Indian railways rocks!
Really?
The
only thing this article left out was a nice racial slur aimed at
Singaporeans.
But
then again if one wanted perspective one would not read a commentator
who makes a living off Asish Nandy.
Try a
certain Joseph Stiglitz and check what he thinks of the island city.
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