Interesting article for fiction writers - how to create a plot for novel writers

A very interesting article on Suite 101 about the five elements of plot creation in novel writing. Hopefully, it helps in dealing with writing blocks relating to plots, which is apparently the most common form of writer's block.

Click here to view the article.

Atomic universes and universal atoms

Could our universe be like an atom compared to a much larger universe? Could an atom be a universe compared to a much smaller universe?

Think of it. What if our whole universe - including all the galactic clusters, galaxies, stars, planets, moons and everything else in it was just a tiny little atom in comparison with a much larger Macro-universe.

On the other hand, imagine that the tiniest little atom was an entire mini-universe with its own variants of galactic clusters, galaxies, stars, planets, moons but happening at a microscopic scale that is so small that it is not observable to us.

Are these just fantasies? Or is there a possibility that all these things were possible, that existence could be layered into several layers of small within large universes on an unending scale both ways.

There is an episode of Cosmos, where the legendary astrophysicist Dr. Carl Sagan asks a similar question.

What if?

Pray for peace in Korea

After 60 years of absence of war (I will not call it 'peace'), the two Koreas have once again erupted into a violent escalation of conflict that could lead to war.

On this dangerous situation, I urge all people to pray for peace. The last thing the world needs is another useless, senseless, bloody war.

Let us hope that the situation cools down without escalating into a full blown war.

President John F. Kennedy - his legacy intact 47 years after his assassination

President John F. Kennedy

November 22, 1963 - 47 years ago today, was the day that President John Fitzgerald Kennedy fell prey to the bullets of an assassin or possibly assassins in Dallas, Texas.

Several books, articles and movies (most famous being 'JFK' by Oliver Stone) have depicted this event in detail. All kinds of theories abound about where the assassin fired from and killed the beloved president. But now the more important thing to talk about, in my mind, is not who killed him, why and from where because the fact is that JFK died on that Friday afternoon in Dallas. What is important is to look at the things he said during his two years, ten months and two days as president of the United States.

President Kennedy talked about and worked towards creating a peaceful planet and his presence in the Oval Office during the thirteen crucial days in October 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis could possibly be the reason why civilization still exists today. His handling of the situation most certainly prevented a nuclear holocaust in 1962.

Kennedy also talked about going to the moon, exploring the stars, conquering the deserts and the oceans.  His speeches even now resonate with the deep desire burning inside hearts to live with a purpose, to do something special for humanity and to serve our nations to the best of our ability. Many of JFK quotations are famous and many of these are from his inaugural address on January 20, 1961, but the passages below are the last few paragraphs of that speech and I would like to quote them:

"Now the trumpet summons us again—not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are—but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation"—a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.
Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility—I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it—and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own." In particular, I like the last sentence "asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own." So, today being the 47th anniversary of the day he passed on from this Earth, let us look at the things that matter. What kind of a world do we live in today? What kind of a world do we want to live in? And what can each and every one of us do to play our roles in achieving that goal?

Comments on President Barack H. Obama's address to the Indian Parliament on November 8, 2010

President Barack H. Obama

I think it takes a lot of courage and humility for a President of the USA to say that he is there as president because of Mahatma Gandhi. It was also very nice that he mentioned Dr. Ambedkar and also spoke about that India is not just an emerging power, but a power that has emerged. However, we also need to hear what he said about India being a bit docile in the international forums (this was in reference to Burma). We need to understand as Indians that if we are truly a "global power" we need to start acting like a global power and not restrict our critical foreign policy statements to Pakistan.

Documentary on Barack Obama's rise to power

Happy Diwali everyone!

President Barack Obama

Since today is Diwali, I was at home relaxing in the afternoon when I decided to watch an HBO documentary about Barack Obama called, 'By The People: The Election of Barack Obama'. (link here)

This was a very well made documentary and basically is about the people involved in Obama's campaign in his dramatic rise to prominence between 2004-2008. Anybody who doubts their own capability or thinks that because of their colour, religion, gender, etc. they cannot succeed, must watch this documentary.

It portrays the indomitable spirit of a man who despite being African-American., despite having an usual name which rhymes with Osama and has Hussein as a middle-name, despite having very little political experience, managed to capture the imagination of a nation and was elected the 44th President of the United States of America.

Irrespective of whether you are a supporter of Obama or not, who cannot remain unmoved and uninspired by his meteoric rise to power and international super-celebrity status even before he was elected president.

The show features both the highs and the lows of the campaign - the high being Iowa and the low being New Hampshire primaries and the controversy about Obama's pastor. In it you will see how a man who is determined to succeed and does not quit even in the face of the highest challenge is able to overcome all these challenges and succeed.

I would recommend this documentary. I bought it from Crossword at the Select City Walk Mall in Saket, but I am sure that it is available in many other places as well.

Interestingly, I watched this show on the eve of President Obama's arrival in India.

Cosmic 'justice' in a nutshell

Whether you believe in reincarnation or not, for a minute just assume it is true. It is the perfect explanation for the so-called injustices at birth. Why are some born in very difficult situations and others born into easy situations? The seemingly unjust and unfair nature of destiny at birth has a very simple solution if you believe in reincarnation. The so called 'justice' meted out by God or Universe or Cosmic Spirit or Creator does not necessarily have to happen in this life. The 'justice' itself being the Universe's way of balancing out karma. The goal I feel is not punishment per se, it is actually a lesson. For those of you who believe it, essentially all souls are good and will return someday to their source. However, how long it takes and how many lessons need to be learnt varies from soul to soul. This is what I believe.

Singapore trip

Went to Singapore last week for the first time and had an excellent time! We (my younger brother Rohan and I) stayed at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, which I might add is perhaps one of the best looking buildings I've seen in my life with its three towers joined together on the top by the Sands SkyPark, a ship shaped structure on the top of the hotel which has a swimming pool called the Infinity Pool (perhaps the longest swimming pool I've ever seen).

Though I primarily went to Singapore on business, it was nice that I got to do some shopping, eat at the famous restaurants of Singapore and enjoyed the hospitality of the friendly and helpful Singaporeans.

It is a trip that I will remember always. I recommend Singapore as a nice vacation destination and also I recommend Singapore as a business destination for hassle free business with a very attractive tax structure.

A picture of the Singapore skyline I took with my Nikon D90 from my room (50th floor of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel)

(From L-R) - Rohan, myself and Ashok Desai at the Jumbo Restaurant near Clarke Quay having the famous Singapore Chilli Crabs

The Marina Bay Sands Hotel

A building near the Marina Bay Sands Hotel

The Infinity pool at the Sands SkyPark, 57th floor of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel

Clarke Quay on Saturday night

Celebrate life, yours and everyone else's!

The entire month of September 2010 so far has been a period of introspection. I was detected with Dengue Fever in the beginning of the month. I was hospitalized and had to undergo two platelet transfusions. After this, I came home and have been resting at home since September 6. I am much better now and will go back to work tomorrow (September 20).

Today I actually stepped out of the house for the first time since September 6. Cheryll and I went for a walk and I really enjoyed it.

This entire period has given me a much needed rest and time to think about life, love, family, friends and God Almighty. I feel humbled and blessed at the same time knowing how much love and prayers were sent to me during this period. I thank God for all of those people who love me. I thank God for giving me this life. Recovering from an ailment makes you love life even more. I am now fully aware of how important each and every life is.

Though we read in the newspapers, watch the news on TV, radio and the Internet and we notice every single day that there are people being killed, abused, tortured, etc. and we really just associate them with a number, a statistic. This sounds mean, but it is true. '100 killed', '25 killed', etc. But the truth is, these are not just numbers and statistics, these are people like you and me. People with families, people with lives, with friends, with hopes, dreams, ambitions, fears, loves, favorites, beliefs, hobbies, etc. etc.

We need to remember this. Because it seems to me that we are becoming more and more hardened and immune to these things that are going on all around the world. We must never forget that everyone that is lost to violence, crime, disease, poverty, disaster is a living, breathing, thinking human being like you and me. Let us never forget that lives lost are not just statistics on the news. Each one lost is the end of a dream. We must pause and remember and honor those lost.

I feel happy that I was saved. But I also have been reminded of the value of each and every human life. God bless you all and remember next time when you hear or see news about people lost, pause for a moment and honor those who are lost.

Celebrate your life and everyone else's!

Resource Furniture: Italian-Designed Space Saving Furniture

Just watched a cool video on concept furniture that helps in saving lots of space in your home. Could be a useful thing to have.

Phase Drafting your book writing process

Just read a  nice article on phase drafting which is a good technique for writing a novel or any other book for that matter. It involves breaking the whole story into a concept and then expanding that concept into a kernel of a plot. This kernel of a plot is then expanded into individual phases or scenes. These scenes in turn have their own 'beginning, middle and end' structures or 'scene arcs' and are worked on individually by the author.

This is a good method in which the basic plot and scene structures are decided in advance using phase drafting and then the author can write faster and finish the novel a lot easier without getting 'stuck' in the middle of a chapter or scene, because each scene is already structured out in advance. Some writers do not like to use a structure or outline as they feel it impedes their creativity and bounds a story into a structured box so to say.

However, using a structure is advisable as without one the story can go hay wire and may lead to more difficulties later on. That is why the plot should be thought over before hand and this is where a lot of the 'thinking' goes into. Then once the scene arcs are ready, each scene can be easily expanded. This also makes it easier to plan out a writing schedule as the writing bits have already been created in the form of scenes.

For a nice description of this process visit Phase Drafting When Writing a Book  and also Randy Ingermanson's Snow Flake method

FTP for Mac users - Cyberduck all the way!

Found a great FTP software for Mac called Cyberduck. It is  a very easy to use freeware with option to 'donate'. Great piece of software for Mac users who are web designers or need to transfer files through File Transfer Protocol (FTP). Recommend it!

The Grapefruit sized Universe!

10^-32 seconds after the Big Bang, the universe was the size of a grapefruit. Everything that ever was, is, or ever shall be was already inside it! I'm talking every galaxy, star, planet, person, animal, plant on this world or any other was already there in the form of pre atomic energy. Think about that! So, we are truly one!

Great sites for photos & prints - Flickr & Snapfish

Discovered two great sites in the last few days. One is Flickr - a site used for uploading and sharing photos. It is a site owned by Yahoo. But what I really liked about this, is that you can upload photos and share them easily with people. You can also add your pictures to a stream of Getty Images, which also has a tie up with Flickr, so that if Getty Images likes a picture you took, they can license it from you (and they can pay you as well).

I also really liked the link-up between Flickr and Snapfish, which is a site where you can print your pictures that you have uploaded onto Flickr. Not only can you print photo prints of varying sizes - you can also print your photos on cups, keychains and other things. Plus you can design and print your own custom made collages, calendars, photobooks, notebooks, etc.

If that weren't enough, you can also have your photos converted into works of art by having them printed on canvas in varying sizes.

All this at a pretty affordable price. Since Snapfish has an Indian site as well, the prices are in Indian Rupees and the delivery is pretty efficient and quick. The canvas print I had made of one of my Lakshmi Statue pictures was nicely packed in a tubular package perfect for canvases.

This is the Lakshmi photo that I had printed on canvas.

The bit.ly advantage

Have you had problems sometimes with long links that do not fit into your Twitter box? If the answer is yes, then you must try out http://bit.ly .

This is a utility used to shorten and share your links. The best part is that the same shortened link can be used in your Twitter, Facebook, Blog, Website, etc.

Visit the site and create a free account. I also recommend to use the bit.ly sidebar option that can be integrated with your browser. This is a very good way of creating a shortened link wherever you are on the Net instantly (without going to the bit.ly site). This can be integrated with your twitter account, so when you click the bit.ly sidebar, it opens a window which has the shortened link and allows you to write upto 140 characters to post on Twitter. It works great.

I really recommend bit.ly. Go for it!

India and the US going up a rising escalator

P062710PS-0397
Originally uploaded by The White House

This photo captures the rising nature of Indo-US relations.

President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ride an escalator on the way to their bilateral meeting during the G20 Summit in Toronto, Canada, Sunday, June 27, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Poor drainage leads to wastage of water, reservoir needed

Yesterday, there was a deluge in Delhi. Today's newspapers report that 11 people across the city died from walls collapsing and electric shock. Roads were jammed for hours and hours and many parts of the city were under a few feet of water.

It is unacceptable that the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), Delhi's two civil bodies are not punished for this debacle. There is no reason on Earth why Delhi's civic bodies cannot do their job in an efficient and transparent manner.

With a complete disregard to the principles of town planning, we have neglected completely to make an efficient drainage system which would lead rainwater into some kind of natural or man-made reservoir.

What is sad about yesterday's deluge is that not only did we get 51 mm of rain that caused havoc, most of it has gone waste. There may be a few environmentally conscious citizens who were able to capture some of the rainwater and I hope they did.

I hope that the authorities will learn something from this and repair the drainage systems and create a water flow network that will allow excess rainwater to be stored and not wasted.

We need desalination plants

The Government of India and every government for that matter needs to subsidise the construction and operation of desalination plants. This will ensure that we have enough water to last for centuries. 

Simply saying that desalination plants are too expensive is not acceptable. 

Also, as far as India is concerned, water should be on the Union list and not a state subject. It is too important a resource to suffer at the hands of bickering state politicians.

Fun at Bangalore airport

I'm currently at the Bangalore airport with my dad. Our flight is delayed, but I don't mind because the airport is pretty good. Lots of eating places and good beer! A great bookshop to boot. A nice airport is fun in its own kind of way and having a laptop is a must. I am connected via my Reliance Broadband + and am able to communicate with the world.

I showed my dad some stuff on Twitter and Facebook. I took a few pictures and uploaded it. He was amazed at how technology has advanced so much that you can take a picture and upload it from anywhere and in seconds the whole world has access to it.

Various beliefs about Jesus in early Palestine

In response to a question by Rev. Vinod John about various 'Jesus movements' in early Palestine...




Well it is true that there were a plurality of Jesus movements in early Palestine. James the Elder (traditionally believed to be Jesus' brother, also son of Mary) was believed to be the head of one group who considered Jesus as the Jewish Messiah and believed that he was a prophet and not the son of God (The Jewish Messiah so to speak was never thought to be the 'Son of God' in an exclusive sense but rather like the way it says in the Bible that you will be called the 'sons of God'.)

One faction was supposedly headed by Mary Magdalene and was more Essene in nature and belief). 


Then you have Peter - Paul group, which actually created the concept of Jesus as exclusive 'Son of God'. It was this faction which prevailed and then later on in the 4th century A.D. prevailed upon Constantine to make Christianity the official religion of the Holy Roman Empire. 


It was around this time that the Council of Nicae was convened and certain books were canonised into the Bible as we know it today. Many concepts that existed prior to this, most notably the widespread belief in reincarnation was declared 'heresy'. It was also during this time that Jesus was 'deified' and declared to be God. This was never believed for the first three centuries of Christianity.

Mars and water - Big News and Good news!!

Space agencies have discovered that Mars was once covered by an ocean. This is news that was much speculated upon and had a high degree of probability. But now it has been confirmed.

This is great news as it really makes two important things closer to becoming a reality:

1. The discovery of extraterrestrial life - as it is now confirmed, Mars had an ocean a long, long time ago. While we still do not have proof that life of any kind existed there, the general rule is: where there is water, there is life. So, now with both the moon and Mars having been confirmed as having water (the moon even today, Mars in the past) and perhaps Europa of Jupiter and Enceladus of Saturn as well, we have found that water may not be as rare a commodity in the universe as we once thought. This discovery alone, highly increases the probability of life outside of Earth. Perhaps it is now just a matter of time before we have hardcore evidence.

2. Since there are more places where water is or was, it also increases our chances of being able to colonize these worlds in the future. Colonization is an absolute must for the longevity of the human race.

Let's see where we find water next.

Recreating Nostalgia

Recently my aunt Asha turned 60 years old. It was an occasion where most members of my family - aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews - came to New Delhi from different parts of India and the United States.

For over ten days, there were lots of parties, dinners, outings, etc. I had fun like I haven't had in a while. It was great to meet most of my cousins after a long time.

But what struck me the most is what I'll call - recreating nostalgia. You see, my cousins and I spent a lot of time together when we were growing up. That was the time when most of them lived in Delhi and some were scattered in different parts of India. Every summer they would come to Delhi (sometimes I would go to Bombay). But those days are the days I remember with a pang of nostalgia many times. I'm talking about the late 1980s early 1990s.

But over the past fortnight, I felt as is we were 'recreating nostalgia'. Because not only did we relive those fun days of being teenagers and early twenty-somethings, we also seemed to strengthen the bond between us so that we will continue to have better days ahead to remember. We recreated our days of nostalgia and at the same time created another moment in our lives that we will look back nostalgically in the future!

On Stephen Hawking's concern about aliens

In the vastness of the Cosmos, we are just a "pale blue dot" as Carl Sagan said. With over 400,000,000,000 (400 Billion) stars in the Milky Way Galaxy Alone and about 6 billion people on planet Earth, that translates to 66.66 stars in this Galaxy for every human being on this planet. Now multiply that by the 100s of billions of 'known' galaxies and you get a huge, huge number. That coupled with the fact that since 1995, we have found hundreds of extrasolar planets, it is almost certain that we cannot be alone in this universe. But despite all the vastness of the Cosmos, one fact remains - Earth is still our only home. We have nowhere else to go yet. So the opinion of Dr. Stephen Hawking about whether we should be careful about inviting alien species here for fear of them being hostile to us is a very wise opinion. The Earth is just too precious.

But there are other aspects to this whole debate. Take the example of Christopher Columbus travelling across the Atlantic and finding the Native Americans. Their communication technology of that time was limited to perhaps 'smoke signals'. So, its not that Columbus knew that they were there when he came. He would have come anyways. Likewise, the aliens would not necessarily even be able to detect our radio and TV signals. Who knows what kind of technology they use. Maybe our technology is actually too primitive to be detected.

Take the case of ants, dolphins and whales on our world. They obviously are able to communicate with each other. Ants are able to make complex colonies. Yet we humans don't even know what they say to each other. We don't treat them like fellow intelligent beings. Why would an alien even bother about us? How would they communicate with us if they are much higher on the evolutionary scale. It is like us trying to communicate with ants. Perhaps they are so far ahead of us that they are already here and we are not able to observe them, much like amoebae do not have any idea when we watch them under a microscope. There are so many possibilities.

But the one thing that we need to do is keep on looking for life. Even if we are never able to have a meaningful conversation with an alien either too ahead or too behind our scale on the evolutionary ladder, we must keep looking for those who are more or less at the same level.

Perhaps we will only learn the secret of interstellar travel when we have been able to survive without killing each other. Maybe we will come into contact only when we evolve into a higher state of consciousness as a species. Maybe we are still in the stage of a cocoon and must evolve more before we are able to venture out into the Cosmos. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe. Perhaps. Perhaps. Perhaps. One day we will find the answers.

But unfortunately we are still earthbound and this is something we need to take very seriously. We have all kinds of issues here on terra firma - terrorism, environmental problems, poverty, etc. We need to tackle these first and then ultimately if we are to survive as a race - we must venture out into the stars - aliens or no aliens - the future of humanity is in space. If our civilisation is to survive in the long term, we have to colonise the Galaxy or at least to begin with our little measly corner in it.

Good cheap Mac software substitute for Photoshop and Dreamweaver users

After buying my MacBook Pro, one of the things that took some getting used to was the compatibility with certain popular software like Photoshop and Dreamweaver - applications that I used very frequently. Well, Adobe (the company that makes both the above mentioned software) has a Mac version as well. But of course, the issue here is the price. If you were to download and buy the new Adobe CS5 suite it would cost you more than $ 1000 US dollars!

So after discovering a site one day, I was pleased to find that it was made on a software called RapidWeaver, which is made exclusively for Macs. I went to the rapidweaver site - http://www.realmacsoftware.com/rapidweaver/ and downloaded it. After trying it out I am of the opinion that while it lacks much of the real control that Dreamweaver offers for making websites, it is pretty good for making a basic attractive website at a very attractive price - only $79 US.

Then comes the photoshop equivalent. Though I haven't downloaded and tried it as yet, but http://www.pixelmator.com/ seems to have most of the features that Photoshop gives at a very attractive price of $ 59 US. I believe they have a Windows version as well.

So worth a look for Mac users trying to get their hands on some Mac Software.

Shashi Tharoor clean bowled

When Shashi Tharoor entered Indian politics a year ago, not even the fake pundits predicted that he would be out so soon. Kind of like Tendulkar being clean bowled in his first over.

The nation looked forward to the entry of this person into it's political arena. Here was a man who was a 'super diplomat', a man who was a heartbeat away from becoming the UN Secretary General.

But despite his impeccable credentials and diplomatic record, Tharoor turned out to be a major disappointment. His never-ending tweets (many times with controversial contents) showed a surprising lack of tact and diplomacy. It was really unnecessary for him to have written all these official matters in a hasty and irreverent manner.

The last straw of course being the IPL controversy which led to his resignation.

Is Tharoor out of Indian politics for good? Who knows. But what is for sure is that he needs some serious coaching on how to conduct himself as a minister. A minister is a representative of the government and as such is not supposed to air out his opinions so openly (sad, but true). But Tharoor is still an MP and maybe he could still be a better MP than he was a minister. But if it is proved that there was some corruption involved in the IPL scandal, maybe even his future as an MP could be in doubt.

New blog colour scheme

Changed the colour scheme on my blog today. Hope you like it better than before.

Blog lazy!

Okay, so I haven't been blogging much lately. Well, what can I say other than the fact that I have been lazy! Having said that, I hope to be more regular here on. The thing is now with all these social apps - twitter, facebook, etc. you never really know whether to tweet, blog or note (write a Facebook note that is - yeh, I think I've invented a new socio-tech word..come to think of it -- 'socio-tech' sounds pretty original as well, no?)

Got to go now, more later.

Faith, Reticence And Work - Edit Page - Opinion - Home - The Times of India

Faith, Reticence and Work
Prashant Solomon
The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ performed many miracles, including healing the sick and even raising the dead. Christ tells healed people two things: ''According to your faith be it unto you'', and ''your faith hath made thee whole''. Then he charges them by saying, ''Tell no man about what has happened to you.'' Faith has a vital role to play here.

The Roman centurion whose servant was ill had so much faith in Christ that though Christ offered to come to his house the centurion said, ''I am not worthy that you come to my house, but simply say the word and it shall be done. Like I am a man in authority and when I tell my subordinates do this or do that, I know it shall be done.''

Jesus was so impressed by the centurion's faith that he declared to all those assembled there, ''I have never seen so much faith. No, not in Israel.'' Within the hour, the servant had miraculously been healed.

However, there are also some cases in the Bible where Jesus could not cure people ''because of their unbelief. Jesus also said to ''tell no man''. This is so because at times sharing things with others can be counterproductive as other people's envy, doubts, fears and negativity can adversely affect the healed person's mind and could also create some kind of negativity which could hinder the healing or other desire of the seeker as a negative suggestion is also powerful and can choke the flow of positive energy or belief. This is why reticence is important. Claude M Bristol says in his book, The Magic of Believing: "It cannot be too strongly emphasised that you should not give anyone an inkling of your plans or desires. To do so may end disastrously for you.'' Because the negative vibrations that other people can send you could be powerful and can deter your plans. This is perhaps the same reason that Jesus instructs the healed person to ''tell no man''.

When a woman touched the robe of Jesus, she was cured and Jesus asked: "Who touched me for I could feel virtue flowing out of me." Now the word 'virtue' is not the best translation of the original Greek word dynamis which means power or strength. Incidentally, all the verses that talk of Jesus's 'mighty works' also are translations of the same Greek word dynamis. Each time in the original Greek text, it was this word that was actually used. This word is used throughout the New Testament. So there is a kind of power that flows into the faithful, it is this faith that attracts the flow of the healing power and it is this 'power' itself that is the originator of the mighty works of Jesus Christ as described in the Bible. It is likewise lack of faith that blocks the flow of healing power.

The woman believed that Christ would cure her, but she also acted by touching his robe. The centurion had faith in Jesus, but acted by asking Jesus to heal him. There must be some kind of action or request (prayer) on the part of the receiver. ''Ask and it shall be given'', ''seek and you shall find''. While we need to have faith in God, we need to act as well for without action on our part, faith itself is of no use ''For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.''

Chintels day out at Ambience Mall

On Saturday, March 6, 2010 - we at Chintels officially started off our 25th anniversary celebrations. We plan to have a series of celebrations that will culminate in a 'grand finale' sometime towards the end of this year.

To get the ball rolling, the entire staff of Chintels corporate office had a 'day out' at Ambience Mall in Gurgaon. The day started off at 10:00 am, when we all assembled outside the PVR ticket counter and watched the film 'Atithi, Tum kab jayoge'. As for the film, I would give it a 4 out of 10. Well, this is not supposed to be a film review, so we'll leave it at that.

After this, I bought a new Canon PowerShot SX200 IS from the Reliance electronics store to click some pictures of the event. This was followed by lunch at the food court, where after much deliberation, I decided to have a slice of pepperoni pizza from Sbarro. It was OK, nothing to write home about.

The next thing we did, which was really the highlight of the day as far as the rest of the Chintels people were concerned was the bowling at Blu-O. Wow! We had a blast to say the least! We booked about five lanes and played for about three hours non-stop. It was good fun. Photos of the event are also being posted here.

After that most of the team Chintels left, but I stayed on with my parents, wife, brother and a cousin who was there. We had some wheat beer at the Bavarian (part of Rockman's Beer Island) and then the highlight of the day for me and my brother was that we both bought identical 13" MacBook Pros!

But by the end of it, I was dog tired. My brother drove home and as soon as I reached home, I crashed out! But what a day man. I haven't had so much fun in a long time and I have never spent so much time in a mall on a single day. We were there for about 10 and a half hours!

Where are you in the Milky Way Galaxy?

Like a mote of dust our planet is in the vastness of the Milky Way Galaxy, which in turn is but a mote of dust compared to the vastness of the Cosmos. Yet we divide, bicker and kill. Make peace not war. There is so much more to learn and explore.

A little video I made

Indians first, Indians last

Facebook Prashant Solomon: Indians first, Indians last:
"SRK, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Gandhi and the list must keep growing of those people who will stand up to the devisive hooliganism of the Thackerays. India is not a land of Marathis, Gujaratis, Punjabis, Tamilians, Delhiites, etc. It is the land of Indians! We are all members of one body, one family, one India and in a united voice we declare that We The People Of India will fight against the forces of communalism, regionalism, casteism and any other 'ism' that threatens to divide our people. It is time for us to be Indians first and Indians last. Whether Hindu, Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist or Jew we are Indians. Whether Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi - we are Indians. Whether Dalit, Brahmin, Yadav or Jat - we are Indians and this is all we need to remember. Jai Hind!"

Tribute to my grandfathers

Prashant Solomon's tribute to his grandfathers
January 10, 2010

To all the members of our family that could not be with us today, I first want to say that you are all missed. We wish you could be here, but we understand that coming here on such short notice is difficult. For your benefit, we are going to upload the photos and videos of this event on the Internet soon. To those that could make it, I thank you.

In this month of January, in the year 1910 – (remember this was one hundred years ago before the First World War, before the Titanic sunk) – two men were born. They were named Ezekiel Henry Solomon on January 13 and Samuel Prem Dass, or "Sammy" as he was affectionately called, on January 31.

Ezekiel and Sammy became friends later on in life. They were blessed with great wives namely Nora and Helen and many lovely children. Ezekiel had 9 children, 14 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren. Sammy had 4 children, 7 grandchildren and 7 grand grandchildren so far. Unfortunately, Ezekiel never saw any of his grandchildren and Sammy also passed away on my 4th birthday, so my memories of him are not very clear, although I remember that we loved each other a lot and I am told that I use to help him up the stairs because he had some problem in his leg.

Both my grandfathers lived through a very eventful era of history. They saw two bloody World Wars and also India's freedom struggle.

Some time in the 1960s, Ezekiel's third son fell in love with Sammy's third daughter. They got married in 1971 and the next year, their bloodlines mixed together in me. They became my grandfathers and I became their grandson. 12 years later, long after they were both gone, their bloodlines mixed once again in my younger brother.

Both my grandfathers saw a lot of history. Some of it filled with the bloodshed of two World Wars. But like there is sometimes blood in history, there is also history in blood.

Every drop of our blood has a history. It is filled with the genetic information passed down over many generations written in the form of DNA. Written in the language of God. Somewhere encoded within our DNA is the signature and instincts of our forefathers. This is the information through which we are made. So we see that your ancestors are with you not just in the mind, the heart, the soul, but also they are with you in your blood through their DNA.

As the generations progress, more blood is mixed from different blood lines and this continues. It is like during the Holy Communion, when we drink the blood of Christ and eat his body, we are becoming One not only with him, but with each other. We are One in the blood of Christ and likewise we are part of One body. I Corinthians 12 talks about how each part of a body is important. We cannot say that the eye is more important than the hand or that the heart is more important than the brain. Each organ has its role. But together they form an organization, or a body. Each of us is a part of larger Body that we call a family. Each member is unique with their own talents. We are therefore not supposed to compete with each other, but complement each other. We all have our own talents. My brother's talent in music is his. My talent in writing is mine. We will never compete with each other, but complement each other's talent as something that enriches and strengthens the Body of our family.

I met a man recently who had travelled to many countries. He has seen many things including bloody wars. I asked him, what is the one thing that you have learned from all your travels and experiences. Without any hesitation, he said "Family". He said I realized that it is your family that will always be with you. It is your family that gives you strength, he said. You are forever entwined together as family, whether you want it or not, even if you do not always get along, you can never change the fact that you are family.

We get so busy today in our lives that we do not take out enough time for family. There is a story about a six-year-old boy who asked his father how much he made in an hour. The father said 20 dollars and the boy offered his father 20 dollars to come home an hour early, so he could have dinner with him at home. We are so caught up with work, money, fame, success or power that we sometimes forget in the end – who is it all for? As Robin S. Sharma asks in his book with the same title – who will cry when you die?

We are a living testimony to our ancestors and also living blueprints for our descendants. We have a responsibility to both – to our ancestors – to honour their memory, to complete their unfinished goals, to maintain their heritage, to learn from both their triumphs and tragedies, successes and failures, hopes and fears, sins and virtues.

To our descendants – we have the responsibility to live our lives in a way that they will be as proud of us 100 years later, as we are of our forebears. We have a responsibility to them also to try to leave for them a better world than what we were given.

In closing, I will narrate a small little story:

A man asked the wise philosopher: "We often say that our predecessors were wiser than we. But at the same time we criticize their comments, often rejecting them and claiming that the truth rests with us. How is this possible?"

The wise philosopher responded: "Who sees further a dwarf or a giant? Surely a giant for his eyes are situated at a higher level than those of the dwarf. But if the dwarf is placed on the shoulders of the giant who sees further? ... So too we are dwarfs sitting on the shoulders of giants. We master their wisdom and move beyond it. Due to their wisdom we grow wise and are able to say all that we say, but not because we are greater than they."

The meaning of the word "FAMILY"

(Found this on the Net. Very nice.)

Many of us are neglecting of the word FAMILY especially those who are working and not giving too much attention to people beside them. I personally experienced the same thing but when I've read the story below, it all change my perspective about the people around me. It is a story of a son who wants to buy the time of his father. A very touching story, A simple but very effective in changing the person's life. I got it from an email to me, I don't know where this story originated so I consider this as a God's Letter to all the people who do not know the real meaning of the FAMILY. Here it goes....


A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5 year-old son waiting for him at the door. "Daddy, may I ask you a question?"

"Yeah sure, what is it?" replied the man.

"Daddy, how much do you make an hour?"

"That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?" the man said angrily.

"I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?" pleaded the little boy.

"If you must know, I make $20 an hour."

“Oh," the little boy replied, with his head down.

Looking up, he said, "Daddy, may I please borrow $10 from you?"

The father was furious, "If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I work hard everyday for such this childish behaviour."

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money? After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think: Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $10 and he really didn't ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.

"Are you asleep, son?" He asked.

"No daddy, I'm awake," replied the boy.

"I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier," said the man, "It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the $10 you asked for."

The little boy sat straight up, smiling. "Oh, thank you daddy!" He yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills. The man, seeing that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, then looked up at his father.

"Why do you want more money if you already have some?" the father grumbled.

"Because I didn't have enough, but now I do," the little boy replied.

"Daddy, I have $20 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you."

Share this story with someone you like.... But even better, share $20 worth of time with someone you love. It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts.

If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family & friends we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than to our family an unwise investment indeed.

So what is the moral of the story???? Don't work too hard... and know who you are working for...and....you know what's a family?

FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER, (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU

What the hell was the strange blue spiral over Oslo, Norway the night of Obama's Nobel Prize awarding ceremony?

Guys did you hear about the strange spiral over Oslo, Norway the day Obama attended the Nobel award ceremony? It is so strange and I just don't buy the explanation that it was a Russian missile that caused this. People living in Oslo said they have experienced Russian missile tests earlier and nothing ever caused this ...mysterious spiral. Obama also left Oslo in a big hurry without even meeting the King for lunch which is a customary event. Does he know something we don't? Was he in some kind of danger? Just what the hell is going on. Incidentally, Earth entering into the spiral core of some kind is part of the 2012 lore.

President Barack Obama's speech at the Acceptance Ceremony of the Nobel Peace Prize

President Barack Obama's speech at the Acceptance Ceremony of the Nobel Peace Prize

Salahis gatecrashing White House dinner was a threat to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also

Everyone is talking about how the Salahis 'gatecrashed' the White House during the State Dinner in honour of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Not only was it a threat for President Obama, but has anyone even thought that it could have been a serious threat to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as well. What if some LeT operative 'gatecrashed' the party. Even if no weapons were brought inside, there was plenty of fancy knives and forks to choose from.

It is surprising that the US Secret Service allowed this serious breach of security.

Creative Writing - Fiction

Creative Writing - Fiction

A nice article on Creative Fiction by Patrick Dent

Water on the moon

NASA just had a press conference in which they stated that there is a 'significant' amount of water found in the polar region of the moon. It is an interesting day for science and for humankind. One wonders what other secrets are still to be unravelled on the moon. If there is water, could there be life?

It is also a big step towards the establishment of some kind of permanent establishment on the moon.

Wealth Lessons From Joseph Kennedy

Wealth Lessons From Joseph Kennedy

Interesting tips on making money from the life of Joseph P. Kennedy, father of US President John F. Kennedy.

Prashant Solomon (prasol) on Twitter

Prashant Solomon (prasol) on Twitter: "Most matter is nothing but void. An atom's volume is 98% void. The nucleus has almost 100% of the mass but only 2% of the volume. Think."

Investing wisely in the stock market in India - some rules to follow

Investing in the stock market is one of the best ways to make money. However, it is something that needs to be done wisely and requires patience. These are some rules to remember while investing. While this is primarily focussed towards investing in India, these rules apply everywhere.

1. Invest for the long term - investing should always be done with a long term view in mind (between three to five years is a good time span). Investing for the long term allows enough time to sway through the volatility that often accompanies the stock market. However, it is also important to keep investing regularly as well. The power of compound growth can only occur over a long period of time. This approach also creates discipline in the investor.
   


2. Invest regularly in small amounts - investing should be a way of life - just like exercise - and should be done regularly. Instead of investing a large amount at a time, it is better to invest small amount at regular intervals of time. A monthly investment is a popular option. This helps in neutralizing the effects of volatility in the market, so that you get more shares when the price is low and less shares when the price is high. Over time, the average cost of accumulation of shares levels out. This also creates a sense of discipline.
   


3. Invest in businesses not just stocks - when you invest in a company's shares, you are buying a little piece of ownership in that company. Buy a business, not just a stock. This approach will make you more aware of the type of business the company is engaged in, its growth prospects and the quality of the company's management. The management of a company is important and an investor should be familiar with at least a few of the people behind the company. This is not a rocket science though. You do not have to know the complete ins and outs of the company, but you should have a fair idea based on research, news items, word of mouth and plain old common sense. Investing in stocks ultimately is about investing in the future prospects of that company and it is always necessary to know something about the nature of business, the products or services, the growth history, management and future plans of the company.
   


4. Do your own research - with the growth of the Internet, it is now possible to do research on companies very easily. Sites like Google finance, yahoo finance, money.rediff.com, moneycontrol.com and economictimes.com are good places to start. The basic things to look at are the PE ratio, growth of EPS, book value, growth of profits, profit & loss, dividend paying history among others. It is better to shortlist companies based on your own research. Look for companies that have lower PE ratios. A company with a low PE ratio generally means that the company's shares are available at a good bargain. However, there are some exceptions. Not every company with a low PE ratio is a good investment. The PE ratio is more about how much of a bargain you are getting on your purchase and does not necessarily indicate anything about the quality of the company itself. But it's a good place to start, along with looking at the profit growth over a few years and growth of EPS (Earnings per share) [PE ratio by the way is -- price of the share/EPS].
   


5. Never invest based on tips - for every 'tip' there are more than a thousand people who lost money. Never invest in any company based on a tip alone. Information is everywhere, but there is also a lot of misinformation. Tips are like rumours, they spread like wildfire and could be with some vested interest behind them. Never believe them. Tips are different from suggestions or tips based on some bona fide research and suggestions received through such sources can be explored by doing further research and then considered.
   


6. Invest only risk capital - never invest money in the stock market unless you have a comfortable amount of money saved up in a bank account. Money invested in the stock market should only be that which is left over after paying all the monthly dues such as children's school fees, rent, bills, etc. As mentioned earlier, invest small amounts regularly.
   


7. Know the risks before investing - while stock markets can be very rewarding, there is an inherent risk in investing in the markets. Stock prices can crash and leave most of your capital wiped out. Know this before investing. If you are willing to take this risk, only then invest. However, like all risks you can say that the greatest risk of all is not taking any risk. Higher the risk, higher the return. Know this and be prepared for what goes with the territory.
   


8. Diversify your investments - Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Buy stocks of companies across sectors. Do not over-diversify. Scattering your capital across too many stocks is as bad as not diversifying. A basket of 10-15 stocks is ideal.
   


9. Book profits regularly - it is important to book profits at regular intervals. Whenever your investment reaches a predefined target, it is good to book partial or full profits. You can always buy again later at a lower price. No money can be made until you sell. The idea is to buy low, sell high and then repeat.
   


10. Cut losses - always remember not to hold on to losing stocks for too long unless you have a very good reason to. The feeling of not wanting to be wrong is not a good reason. We all learn from mistakes and everyone including investing legends like Warren Buffet and Rakesh Jhunjhunwala also have made their share of mistakes. Learn to acknowledge your mistake and cut your losses by selling your losing shares. Consider it as a price for tuition.
    


11. Patience is a virtue - small drops form an ocean, fortresses are made brick by brick and so it is with building wealth. Do not entertain dreams of becoming rich overnight. Start investing early and regularly and keep doing it over years. It takes years to build wealth. Over years you can accumulate good quality stocks that will earn you great riches. But it takes time. Do not be impatient. Enjoy the ride.
    


12. Enjoy yourself - investing is a lot of fun and everyone has their own style of investing and their own choice of portfolios. Invest in companies that you are interested in and enjoy the ride. Remember this always - never let success get to your head and never take failure to your heart. Keep trying and enjoy!
    

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Prashant_Solomon

Bangalore visit

Just returned from a one day trip to Bangalore or should I say Bengaluru, India's "garden city". I must say, weather wise in India, you cannot beat Bangalore. The new airport is great and the flight was very smooth. Air India is pretty good.

The children of the Mughal empire

The Mughal Empire has always fascinated me. What would India be without the Taj Mahal or Red Fort? It is the Taj Mahal that is India's wonder of the world and the most attractive tourist destination in the country. It is the Red Fort from which the Prime Minister of India addresses the nation every August 15th. These are also two of the greatest monuments of the Mughal period, windows into a time that the Mughal empire was perhaps the greatest on Earth.

Tales of Akbar and Birbal are an old time favourite. The Mughal emperors hold a certain grand aura about them that most other kings, queens, emperors and empresses of the world do not match up to (with the possible exceptions of Ashoka, Alexander the Great, Victoria and maybe a few more).

Notable Bollywood films like Mughal-e-Azam and more recently Jodha Akbar have captured the story of the greatest Mughal emperor Akbar in reasonable detail. The Mughals are a part of our history and of our modern day culture.

But what ever happened to them? We know that Bahadur Shah Zafar was the "last Mughal emperor" although the empire had been decaying for one and a half centuries before him. This is a link to an interesting story I found about the conditions that the last Mughal emperor's descendants are living in today. I thought you might find it interesting.

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/world/31340-mughal-emperors-descendants-penniless

Cattle class and Shashi Tharoor

Shashi Tharoor

OK, it is now a matter of debate. Was Mr. Shashi Tharoor, India's minister of state for external affairs right or wrong when he made his famous 'cattle class' tweet? He justified his online remark by saying that he was referring to the way economy class passengers are treated by the airlines. But then again, Mr. Tharoor follows his 'cattle class' phrase with 'the other Holy cows' in reference to other politicians like Mrs. Sonia and Mr. Rahul Gandhi who are also on this so-called 'austerity drive'.

Whether what Mr. Tharoor says is true or not, he needs to realise that while politicians and ministers also enjoy freedom of speech and expression under Article 19 of the Constitution of India, they also have certain duties as public servants and one of these would be to respect the actions and views of their political parties and government and think twice before tweeting. Mr. Tharoor needs to understand that he is now no longer a 'normal tweeting citizen', he is a minister in the government of India and needs to refrain from making such silly remarks that too for the whole world to read. Considering that he worked in the United Nations and almost become the Secretary-General, who needs to learn a little more about diplomacy towards his party and to the Indian public.

Delhi lashed by rains. Roads jammed

Well, it finally rained! Correction - it rained like Hell! But along with the rain came the utter chaos on the roads in New Delhi. It is absolutely ridiculous that the nation's capital gets completely screwed with just one rain! The roads are completely jammed. Traffic is in total chaos and it takes hours to travel barely a few kilometres.

Why? Obviously, the drainage system in Delhi is an utter failure. Is anyone cleaning the drains? We pay taxes to the government and so money should not be the problem. Maybe the problem is with honesty and the sense of duty in our public servants - which include the safai karamcharis by the way!

The next time you want to walk on the moon and visit one of the craters, don't bother applying to NASA. A walk down one of the roads in Delhi will give you a good enough idea. The roads have craters in them, obviously from the poor quality of materials being used in them.

I believe next year there is a certain Commonwealth Games happening in this same city. God forbid if it rains. I know for a fact that we will not win the Gold Medal for civic infrastructure.

We are spiritual beings

"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience."
- Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

UberTwitter is cool

I was looking for a good Twitter client to install on my Blackberry. So, after some surfing around, I found Twitterberry. I installed it and used it, but it was not too user friendly and was very confusing when it came to uploads photos. So, I did some more surfing and found UberTwitter. This is a very cool application for a single interface between Twitter & your Blackberry handset. It is very user friendly and uploading photos is very easy. I recommend UberTwitter.

Indian real estate begins to pick up

It looks like the real estate sector is getting better in India, especially in the NCR area. Reports of increasing prices and renewed interest in buying of houses indicate that the worst may be over for Indian real estate players. Real estate companies on the stock exchanges have also been the main beneficiaries of the recent stock market rally.

Is this the beginning of a new 'bull market'. I think it is. Recent market surveys indicate that the NCR will see a surge of demand in residential real estate in the next five years. The study indicates that there will be a demand of about 1.5 billion square feet of residential real estate alone in the NCR. This is good news for real estate developers. Let's wait and watch.

Ultimate faith in the divine will

By. Prashant Solomon
(published in The Speaking Tree column, The Times of India October 31, 2008)

Why do we pray? Some want health, others wealth. Some pray for the longevity of their parents, the safety of their children or that some other desire of theirs gets fulfilled. These prayers, like all others, have power and energy that bring them to life.

The only difference between a prayer and a desire is that a prayer is directed towards God with faith. Faith plays an important role in whether the prayer is answered or not. But do we always know what is best for us?

Suppose there is a new video game in town that every child wants. But this game is not without its dangers - it has gore, violence and profanity and might not be in the best interest of the child. But the child still wants it and repeatedly asks his parents for it. They may refuse a few times, but chances are that after a while, may give in to their child's demands. Not all parents will give in, but some will. So, the child's 'prayer' was ultimately answered by faith and perseverance. But is the video game good for the child?

We ask God for things that we want, but are those things always the best for our spiritual growth? As the saying goes, 'be careful of what you wish for, because you might get it'. We may be intensely praying for things or relationships that may not be good for us. But the intensity of our prayers creates a vibratory ripple in the Cosmos that will have its answer, its result - the fruit of the desire seed. This is why it is important for our spiritual growth to let God decide what is best for us.

When Jesus Christ was in the Garden of Gethsemane on the eve of his crucifixion, he knew the fate he would suffer the next day. Though he was divine in nature, he was also in human form and naturally did not want to die. So, in Luke 22:42, we learn that he said the following prayer: "Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my Will, but Thine, be done." Christ put God's will above his own. "Thy Will be done" is also part of the Lord's Prayer. This is the essence of faith in its truest and purest form.

Putting everything into God's hands and saying simply, "Let Thy Will be done" requires a tremendous amount of courage. It requires a lot of faith. Because somewhere deep down inside your heart and mind, you wish and hope that the Lord's Will coincides with your own. But true and pure faith knows (not believes, because believing is not being entirely sure) that the Will of God is best for you. That is true faith. Like in the case of Christ, if he had not died on the cross, he would not have therefore been glorified through resurrection and thus his mission would not have been accomplished. So, his will in this case, would not have been the best for him. God knew what was best and since Christ said, "Let Thy will be done", it was done.

At the same time it is fine to put your request before the Lord like Christ did when he said, "If Thou be willing, remove this cup from me." So you can ask God - "If Thou Art be willing then let Thy Will be done, not mine."

This prayer - if said with utmost faith and sincerity and with the knowledge that God loves you and will do whatever is in your best interest - will yield the sweetest fruit

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Speaking_Tree/Ultimate_faith_in_the_divine_will/articleshow/3655327.cms

Unite against Mother India's problems, stop attacks against Christians

The recent attacks on churches and Christians in Karnataka and Orissa and other scattered parts of the country are a disgrace to the secular fabric of India and an insult to the vision of our founding fathers of India being a secular republic.

It is also clear that non-Congress governments, whether they are led by the BJP or BJD, are not only insensitive towards the rights of minorities but are also, it seems in the case of Karnataka in particular, very dismissive towards their accountability in bringing the guilty persons to justice.

It is very clear and does not take any kind of rocket science to conclude that these attacks are being perpetrated by the Bajrang Dal and other Sangh Parivar factions.

It is appalling that despite the Christian community in India being in the forefront in serving the nation in the form of providing quality education, healthcare and social services, it is being targeted on the label of “converting” the masses. When a poor child is fed, a sick person injured or an illiterate child educated, they are already “converted” from being a victim of apathy to a useful member of society. The spark of love and care that is showered on them is enough to convert them into becoming a useful citizen of this country. They do not have to become a Christian for that.

There are millions of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs in this country who have been converted by a Christian institution. Not converted into practicing any kind of religious dogma ~ which really doesn’t matter anyway ~ but by being converted into a useful member of society.

So let us Indians not tread down the gory path of communalism. Let us unite and solve the real problems Mother India faces ~ poverty, corruption, lack of infrastructure, pollution, illiteracy and unemployment.

Published in the Statesman as a letter to the editor. Click here to visit site.

You are Godstuff

BY. Prashant Solomon

(Published in the Inner Voice column of Hindustan Times March 4, 2008)

(slightly edited version was printed in the newspaper due to space constraints)

The ancient wisdom of the ages is this – you are a drop of the ocean called God. However, most have not realized this truth. "The Kingdom of God is within you," says the Lord Jesus Christ in Luke 17:21 and this is so. Think of this truth. When the creation of the Cosmos took place, the raw materials had to come from somewhere. So where did they come from? Even if you believe in the Big Bang theory that the Cosmos was condensed into a tiny ball of energy that just exploded one fine day and continued to expand until the present cosmic setup, the basic elements of the cosmos had to come from somewhere. It is too simplistic to say that they "just came" out of nowhere. The basic building blocks of the entire Universe are the same three sub-atomic particles – protons, neutrons and electrons. There is absolutely no difference between the protons, neutrons and electrons in you and in the paper that you are reading and the chair that you are seated on. They are the same. There is fundamentally no difference between you, your car, your house, your best friend and your worst enemy when it comes to the basic building blocks that make you. This is important to note because it immediately makes you feel the 'oneness' of all things throughout the Cosmos.

So, the Creative power that made the entire Cosmos had to have used 'itself' as the basic 'stuff' that made the protons, neutrons and electrons as well as the almost unimaginable energy that goes into every single atom of creation. So not only are we (as the late astronomer Carl Sagan loved to say) 'starstuff', but we are all 'Godstuff' that has been mixed and matched in different permutations and combinations and is made to interact with each other amidst the delusion that we are actually separate. We are as separate as the individual drops in the ocean – which still retain their existence in some stretch of imagination, but at the same time, have merged with the larger entity called ocean. They still exist, but now as a part of a larger more powerful being. Like the cells in your bodies are individual beings in their own sense – they have a fixed boundary or body, they are born, they reproduce, they absorb oxygen (so they breathe in a sense) and then they die. They may even have consciousness, but miniscule compared to the consciousness of a human being. Yet, our physical bodies are nothing more than a conglomerate of trillions of cells. So are we the single body or the sum total of trillions of cells?

Extending this thought to the next level – our souls are like the cells that make up the body of God. We are drops of the ocean of God and are one with God whether we recognize this or not. But we are blessed. It is possible through meditation for our consciousness to become one with the cosmic consciousness. Just like the sound of the sea lays hidden inside every sea shell, the vibration of God's kingdom is hidden within every soul – just waiting to be found. It can be found by tuning into it. So the drop can still have its existence in consciousness, but at the same time can draw on the wisdom and experience of the grand ocean and be one with it at the same time. When this happens, we will realize the truth that we are not separate beings in isolation, but parts of the creator of the entire cosmos and since we ALL are parts of the Creator, and like drops of the cosmic ocean, therefore we are all ONE.

Prayer power

By. Prashant Solomon

(published in Inner Voice column, page 13, Hindustan Times, October 24, 2007)

(published in slightly edited form in the newspaper due to space constraints)

There is a lot of power in thoughts and prayers. Thoughts are a form of energy and therefore real. Prayer is a form of communication with the Infinite source of all energy, or God; through our thoughts. Thoughts are like seeds which require nourishment to grow into fruit-bearing trees. The nourishment of thoughts is in the form of affirmation, concentration and attention. Prayer need not necessarily involve the usage of pious phrases.

Normal Vincent Peale describes a three-fold approach in his best selling book, 'The power of positive thinking' – (1) prayerise, (2) picturise and (3) actualise. The first step involves simply thinking and talking to God informally, which is prayer. The next step is picturising or visualising it mentally. Create in your mind an image of the desired result: a healed love one, a more prosperous life, a happy marital life, a more healthy or confident self. Whatever you seek, pray to God and then visualise it to be so and then just say to God, "I have put it in Your hands, Lord." After this, the actualisation will come in time either by the desired result or guidance.

Peale gives a glorious example of how we can spread love and goodwill throughout our daily lives. Just say a little prayer for anyone that you see. These are called flash prayers "shot" out towards people. Just send out thoughts of love and goodwill. There have been cases where the recipients of such prayer "shots" could feel a physical manifestation of the energy.

The world can be a lot happier if we all just continuously "shoot" each other with prayers of love and goodwill. Let us "shoot" out positive thoughts towards one and other. We could try to replace our hatred and anger filled thoughts with thoughts of love and goodwill. Just mentally send out peaceful and love filled thoughts of goodwill towards everyone that you see and they will feel it as well. The energies around the whole world will change if everyone starts to do this. These energies are very powerful and the results will be seen and felt. But constant prayers are needed. Even prayers take time to be answered. Just be patient and have faith.

Prayer and positive thinking is also a very useful technique in creating a more confident and success filled life. Thoughts of success often attract success. Thoughts of failure often attract failure. Energy is like a magnet. It attracts. Positive energy attracts positive results.

Positive affirmations, especially at night time before bedtime is a very important tool to attract positive results. The age old tradition of prayer before sleeping is so that the positive thoughts and prayers can sink into the subconscious mind during sleep. Avoid all forms of negativity. Nip it in the mental bud. One can not stop negative thoughts from entering, but one can kick them out as soon as they enter. Positive thoughts can repel negative ones from establishing themselves in the mind.

Many of the world's problems can be solved if there is more prayer energy generated. This energy will increase when we add prayer into our consciousness and make it a part of our daily life. Talk to God either verbally, mentally or even in written form. Yes, write a note to God. Every day use flash prayers to increase the overall consciousness of peace and goodwill and soon if more people do it, we will transform into a much better, safer and peaceful world.

Prashant Solomon, LL.B

On September 18, 2007, I got my final year LL.B result and I passed with a first division (62.5%). I am now a law graduate. I can become an advocate if I choose to. I thank God for this. I always wanted to do an LL.B and now I have finally achieved it!

Cool tools from google

I just wanted to mention that I found these following tools of Google extremely useful and cool.

www.google.com/notebook

and also the Google calendar, which you can access by logging onto your gmail and on then clicking on the calendar link on the upper left part of the screen.

PM vs. Left Front

Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh gave a good reply to the communists that they can go ahead and withdraw support if they so wish. Hurray! The Prime Minister has shown great courage in doing so and I'm sure that millions of us Indians will respect him more for finally standing up to these communist Left Front types like Prakash Karat. These communists while choosing to 'support' the government from 'outside' have virtually opposed just about everything that Dr. Singh's government has done or tried to do. One wonders what exactly is the 'support' that they are lending. The Left Front has acted more like the true opposition than the BJP-led NDA has since 2004.

It is great that Dr. Singh has taken this step. Now the ball is in the court of Karat and company. Will they really act and pull down the government for entering into the nuclear deal with the US or are they just trying to rouse trouble?

Brick by Brick, My Citizens

The Roman Emperor Hadrian once said while building the Roman Empire, "Brick by brick my citizens, brick by brick."

What does that mean?

With the monumental task of building the Roman Empire, one can be sure that Hadrian offered those words to the roman citizens as a way of telling them not to focus too much on the big picture but rather look at it in a way that it can be accomplished and that would be simply brick by brick. One can imagine that the size of the task would be large enough to make most say, "No way, it cannot be done!"