How Can We Matter

I am presently attending an online program of 40 days entitled Atma Chalisa Parayanam , conducted by Shri Vikas Varma. It is a spiritual practice for self-realization - a way of knowing ourselves and our life in a much better manner. Presently it is half way through and we, the program participants, are required to share our experiences in the group.  The learning process of this program involves three basic steps - Sravana, Manana and Nididhyāsana . Sravana is listening to what the teacher says very carefully. Manana is reflecting on what we heard in the class by trying to understand not only the superficial meaning but also the deeper meaning by reading in between the lines. Nididhyāsana is an extensive understanding of what we heard and reflected, probably by applying them in our life to reinforce the ideas and concepts and digesting them thoroughly. The final phase of this spiritual education, namely  Sakshatkara   (experiencing or realization) is when the contemplate...

In the PM race for the second time in months, British Indian Rishi Sunak has regained the trust of a large number of Tory MPs to replace Truss as the next Prime Minister of UK and to make history.  The question that I had asked 51 days back How can Rishi not be UK's next PM? is now unmistakably answered. He has now made history as Britain's first Indian-origin Prime Minister after being elected unopposed as the new leader of the governing Conservative Party, following Penny Mordaunt's withdrawal from the race. The former Prime Minister Boris Johnson had raced home, cutting short a Caribbean holiday, just to realize in time that although he had enough support of 100 lawmakers to enter Monday’s final ballot, the country and the Conservative Party needed unity and therefore magnanimously withdrew from the contest on Sunday! In this period of gloom and grief, Rishi Sunak is destined to lead the country UK and nothing could stop that.  Rishi was inspired by his parents from a...

How can this dynamic young man not be UK's next Prime Minister?  Well educated, talented, widely read, suave, erudite, scholarly, confident, cultured, competent, proficient, knowledgeable, seasoned, still young (just 42 years) yet with solid experience of economic impacts and financial responses as UK's previous Chancellor of the Exchequer.  Rishi Sunak Most importantly his values and ideas are solidly rooted in the very rich traditions of the most ancient Vedic wisdom and culture that his Indian descent parents brought to the country. But he is born, brought up, and educated in the UK imbibing the fundamental British values of democracy, rule of law, respect & tolerance, individual liberty, leadership & accountability, as well as joint decision making. Watch how Nick Ferrari puts Rishi Sunak on the spot at the final Conservative Party leadership hustings, which took place on August 31, 2022.  The panache and confidence with which he handles a variety of que...

Prelude Writing this post brought back fond memories of my professional career as a Senior Consultant with the Abu Dhabi Systems & Information Centre (ADSIC) , now defunct and probably functioning under the new name Abu Dhabi Digital Authority .  It was during those six years (2008-2014) that I had the opportunity to get acquainted with the Strategic Plans of several Abu Dhabi Government Departments and also create a couple of Strategic Plans for whole-of-Government initiatives such as  Abu Dhabi Spatial Data Infrastructure (AD-SDI) Program   and  Abu Dhabi No Objection Certificate (NOC) Program . The work on Geospatial Data Contend Standards  made me familiar with the works of International Standards bodies OGC and ISO.  Reminiscing on the good old days in UAE, I would like to recall with gratitude my associations with colleagues at  GISTEC ,  ADSIC and the GPC Group .   Image Credit: UN HR Portal Edits since publishing on...

Dying with dignity , even when we are physically or mentally not in a position to communicate our wish to our near and dear ones, is an option that many senior people like me will eagerly look forward to, irrespective of our faith or belief system. Now you can choose to do that since the  right to die with dignity is considered as a fundamental human right as per a landmark judgement passed by Supreme Court of India in March 2018. 

Communal harmony is a prerequisite for a country like India, with its diverse population and cultures. Communal harmony means that people of different religions, castes, creeds, and backgrounds live together in the society with love and peace. It strives to create unity and goodwill among various communities, ensuring that every religion gets equal treatment .

It is about 4 years since I wrote this post titled:  Literacy, The Bane of Kerala!  Since then, is there any significant change in the civil society? Of course yes, though it is only to reconfirm my assertion that literacy is the misfortune of Kerala ! In fact, in the last 4 years we have spiraled down further into the dark abyss.

Day in and day out most news papers are reporting that Indian Rupee (INR) is becoming weaker. Is this really true? On closer analysis it appears that this news is one sided and that it is a simplistic way of approaching the subject!

I am not a religious person per se , but had taken keen interest in all religions, in order to understand their teachings, principles, common characteristics, and differences. As I was living in an Islamic country (UAE) for several years it was natural for me to find out more about the teachings of Islam . 

If any reader thinks that I am using the following words and sentences to describe the distinct nature of the disgusting pronouncements of the two wise judges of the Supreme Court then you are not wrong!

India has strategically exploited new technologies to address development gaps and spur economic growth. Under Modi's dynamic leadership our policymakers have adopted  leap-frogging as a possible strategy for driving growth.

Their composed, distinguished, and majestic silence would have set an example on the magnificent and glorious nature of their most sacred scripture that contains 'the ultimate guidance for all humankind', if only ...

Facebook is not a blogging tool, though some people claim Facebook Notes, Facebook Pages, Facebook Groups are possible alternatives for people who might not have their own dedicated blog or website. And I have been using Facebook for Blogging on a variety of topics.  

Yesterday, I drove down from Bangalore to Kozhikode - a 10 hour drive with just two breaks for breakfast and lunch, which we had carried with us.

It sounds like an oxymoron - Brainless Advertising! But I have come to the conclusion that some of the most intelligent people are using Artificial Intelligence, in the most stupid manner. When I watch a YouTube or Facebook video, I see advertisements popping up disrupting the flow of the report / story / music / movie that I am following. Naturally, my first priority is how to stop this intervention.  

Rajasthan people simmering in communal tension RaGa full of fun chilling out Kathmandu nightlife Drinking away to glory in glittering nightclub Tweeting contemptibly 'Saheb is relishing abroad'

Has anyone utilized this landmark judgement (that declared rivers as “living human entities”), pronounced five years ago, for the purpose of rejuvenating and preserving any rivers or lakes in our country?

My wife Vasantha Unnikrishnan got a shock this morning seeing this small lake visible through our bedroom balcony - a view that she enjoys every morning, swaying back and forth in a swing, enchanted by the amphitheater, artificial stream, natural water body, green plants and trees, grazing cattle, distant apartment buildings, and vehicles plying on the elevated Hosur Road Expressway in the yonder.

My granddaughter of Grade 4 studying in Singapore is teaching me a type of poem called Diamante. It is an unrhymed seven-line poem, shaped like a diamond when you write them down. Diamante is the Italian word for diamond.

If we understand this simple fact then we can reduce lots of antagonisms, tensions, and frictions prevailing in the society currently among various groups and individuals.

India will have to pay huge price for govt's cowardly actions: Rahul Gandhi How can we make this learned, enlightened, wise man our PM? Everyday he exhibits his immeasurable wisdom through tweets by advising the PM and exhorting us ordinary people on what to do and what not to do and how to run the country in an outstanding manner.  

It is a fact that many Indians are wallowing in self-pity condemning the dismal state of the nation caused by several factors such as the failed demonetization, faulty GST implementation, abrogation of Article 370, anti-CAA protests, inept handling of the humanitarian crisis, the plight of the migrant workers, Covid vaccine mismanagement, the insecurity and fear that the religious minorities face, the

The fact that the Karnataka High Court has bitten off more than what it can chew is quite evident from the fact that the arguments are continuing for the seventh day today. While the whole discussion is centered around hijab, we have to realize that it means different things to different stakeholders of the issue:

I know it is a sensitive and politically charged subject. Yet "my two cents' worth". In any religion, it is a minority of religious fundamentalists that create problems for the majority of the peace loving followers of that religion. These fundamentalists are very vocal in expressing and advocating their strict, literal, and repressive interpretations of scriptures in the religion. 

Can you imagine a contract being given by a popular cine actor to a gangster for executing a revenge crime against a prominent fellow actress by having her abducted, sexually assaulted, and photographed in a moving vehicle!

Woke up for my early morning walk to a new day in our lives, for a new view from our new flat, and one more day gone from our lives. Though every sunset gives us one day less to live, every sunrise gives us one day more to HOPE.  

The video referenced below illustrates how the health of the whole human race is being endangered by the greed of a few pharma companies together with the connivance and active support of the very institution (US-FDA) responsible for protecting the public health to ensure the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs.

This is an earnest request to the President of the BJP and to the head of RSS to reign in the fanatical and overenthusiastic elements of the BJP and RSS outfits, who are going on a suicidal mission to destroy the plural and peaceful traditions of Hinduism and Hindutva.

What an extraordinary story of good governance and development taking place in Jammu and Kashmir since Article 370 was removed in Aug 2019.

Within less than a month of writing this post entitled 'The Masks We Wear!', the term 'mask' has acquired a completely different meaning the world over.

An excellent book that I was fortunate to read recently, and write a review on! And I got 3 copies of the book as a reward, thanks to the author Visvanatha Krishnamurthy. 🙏☺