Vaishnav Jan To : Touching and Inspiring Bhajan from 15th Century

वैष्णव जन तो तेने कहिये जे पीड पराई जाणे रे,
पर दुखे उपकार करे तोये मन अभिमान न आणे रे॥

Above are the starting lines of the popular bhajan written by Gujarati poet Narsinh Mehta in the 15th century. It inspired Gandhi a lot and there have been many renditions by popular indian singers. Full lyrics can be found on wikipedia

Take out the word Vishnu and replace with God and those lines are the essence of what spirituality is for me.

One who is a Vaishnav (one who is a devotee of Vishnu)
Knows the pain of others
Does good to others, especially to those ones who are in misery
Does not let pride enter his mind

This is an old post which remained as a draft...
 
Nightmare with Eclipse
       Had heard much about "Eclipse : the open source Java IDE". Just wanted to try out.
Had tried long back (almost a year from now).  But didn't find it appealing enough as the
other IDE that I was using at that time "Idea from IntelliJ" was par above it. The version
that I had used at that point of time was 2.0. Had done all the setup and the look and feel
was good. The act ended at that point. Never thought I would come back to it.
     1 year after, I (for some reasons...)  had to try the latest version. Downloaded it and
the greatest thing I liked was that there was no installation and anything required. Just
unzip it and run it. I didn't get it running in the first try. It required JDK 1.4 and my
system was holding onto JDK 1.3. So referred the README and there found the way
to run it with a VM as the option.
     eclipse -vm $JVM_PATH
     Got it running and it was late, after configuring all my sources I realized that there
was nothing related to Java in the Menus. No Syntax highlighting and nothing. So what's
this: wasn't this a Java IDE. Suspected my system Java configuration for this and
gave up not knowing what to do. Lot of time passed just reading the Help ...no use though.
The ultimate rescue : search in google. Luckily someone in some part of the world had
faced similar problems and so stepped onto this link
     http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?t=165604
     This is stupid....No where in the documentation does it mention that Java Develppment
Tool (eclipse-JDT-3.0.zip) has been moved out of the platform SDK and it is a separate plugin that is to be downloaded explicitly. With the 2.0 worship it was packaged into the
core distribution. All my curses to the guy who made this decision ..or the guy whose responsiblity was to document this stuff. So that was the end of all my woes. Am I not to bark against them for all this pain and loss of time (approximately 4 hours) for just getting my project up.

Spelling hint

Came across this useful hint for resolving making myself clear with the spellings of english words involved i and e in succession.

"e before i only after c"

Blind Earthworm

I never paid much attention to the earthworms previously. Yeah, I used to see many of them particularly in the rainy season and sometimes digging the wet mud. We used to use them as bait for catching fish, but it never occurred to know more about them. Only recently I found them interesting, when I saw one of them going on the walkway in my apartment. I noticed it was blind and just to confirm it picked it up and displaced it by 180 degrees and there it was just following the new course going in the direction I put it. A quick search resulted on this page which had many interesting facts about earthworms:-
http://www.biologyjunction.com/earthworm%20facts.htm

Dew worms can live for approximately six and a half years.

They do not have eyes but they do possess light- and touch-sensitive organs (receptor cells) to distinguish differences in light intensity and to feel vibrations in the ground.

 Earthworms are hermaphroditic meaning each worm has organs of both sexes.

 Earthworms respire through their skin, and therefore require humid conditions to prevent drying out.

Squirrel's Nest

While I was walking around my apartment community today, I noticed a squirrel carrying grass in it mouth onto a Pine tree. It caught my attention and I followed the squirrel to find that it was actually making a nest on the Pine tree. It was kind of a surprise that squirrel's live in/make nests. I never thought about it and I didn't know they make nests on trees like birds. I came home and googled to find some interesting facts about squirrel's over here:-
http://www.squirrels.org/facts.html
Some interesting excerpts:-

Squirrel's belong to the order "Rodentia", with 1650 species, it is the largest group of living mammals.  It also comprises forty percent of all present day mammal species. 

Squirrels chew on tree branches to sharpen and clean their teeth. That's why you may see many small branches on the ground around large trees. They will also chew on power lines for the same reason, this has caused many major power outages throughout the country. 

A female squirrel will choose the strongest male during mating season, but is unlikely to breed with that male again. This is natures way of reducing inbreeding,  and to preserve the species. 

A squirrel will break the shell of a nut with its teeth, then clean the nut by licking it or rubbing on its face before it is buried. This action applies a scent to the nut which helps the squirrel find it later, even under a foot of snow.

 

A beautifully written song : Jagame Maaya Bratuke Maaya

A beautifully composed/written/sung song which captures the essence of life. This is from the famous telugu movie 'Devdas'.

I had heard it many a times earlier, but it was never as effective as today. As someone said...it's always there, we only see it when we are ready.

Here are the lyrics and translation to english:-
http://www.poetfreak.com/text/57036/song-of-devdas.html

Random Thought - Futile Search

Nothing can be more futile than searching for meaning/purpose inside a system that was created by us.

All the rules, ideas and values that we live by were created by us. They don't have any real meaning from the point of the universe or the higher order.

Inequality is our creation. It is we who said a white is superior than a black, one caste is superior to the other, the ruler is superior to the ruled, an intelligent person is superior to a dumb person. It is we who said killing in a war is good but killing someone just like that is not good. We created a system that was unjust and now we fight it and say fighting for a cause is worth living for. That's the same as a war which helps create jobs.

Education is the tool to indoctrinate us. It only helps us navigate the intricate system that we created ourselves. We are born and we die just like any other being. All the things that we do from our birth to death are just to keep ourselves busy, to kill the boredom in life and to stop from killing ourselves.

We are as insignificant as an ant or a microbe. There is no such thing as 'advancement of civilization' or 'the greater good'. They're all lies.

There is no such thing as 'PURPOSE OF LIFE'

On Time Management

A very useful guide on time-management. Many of them we already know, but having them at one place makes it quite useful. Thanks to Etienne Garbugli for compiling this.

26-time-management-hacks-i-wish-id-known-at-20

Wheeling in Change

A very nice video made about adopting cycling and public transport in Bangalore. Proud to see Anitha being part of this. Some concrete benefits in terms of monetary savings and reduction in carbon emissions are really worth noting and amplify the effect.

I hope this video creates a positive change not just in India, but around the world.

NCERT Books Available online

I came to know today that all the NCERT books from Class I to Class XII are available. But this is indeed a good deed by NCERT. They can be accessed from this location: http://www.ncert.nic.in/NCERTS/textbook/textbook.htm

As per this article (http://www.hindu.com/edu/2006/06/06/stories/2006060600070200.htm)
in 'The Hindu' this was done in the year 2006 to overcome the problem of shortage of textbooks

Changed my Blog's title

I have been thinking for quite some time to change the title of my blog. My previous title 'Life as it goes by ...' has been bothering me for quite some time. It was quite passive and was in some way reflecting that I was not in control of my life, I was just a mere observer. Maybe this was my opinion when I started this blog. But I don't carry that belief now. Hence this assertive change.

Mount Diablo Challenge

Results of the Mount Diablo Challenge are out and I clocked 1:19:43.8 and stood at 437/607 participants. The timing for the leader was 47:08:06. I had wanted to do it under an hour but the practice and motivation were not enough to accomplish this.
Here are the results.

My Best Timings

Event/Activity Details	Activity Type	Timing	Distance	Date
Half Marathon in Hyderabad	Running	1:55 hrs	21 km	Nov 21, 2009
Half Marathon in San Francisco	Running	2:20 hrs	21 km	April 2008
Pagemill Climb (from Arastradero to Open Space Reserve)	Cycling	0:54 hrs	7.2 mile	May 2012
Mount Hamilton Climb (from Alum Rock Ave to the top)	Cycling	2:01 hrs	17.84 mile	Sep 30 2012
Mount Diablo Climb (from Athenian School to the top)	Cycling	1:25 hrs	11.2	July 2012
Mount Diablo Climb (from Athenian School to the top) During the Mt. Diablo Challenge	Cycling	1:19:43.8 hrs	11.2	07 Oct 2012
Saratoga Climb (from Pierce Road to the top)	Cycling	0:46 hrs	17.84 mile	2012
Fremont School Pool in Sunnyvale	Swimming	-	260 mtr	Oct 3, 2012

Analysis of 'Fight Club'

http://voices.yahoo.com/a-psychological-analysis-chuck-palahniuks-fight-322034.html

Mount Diablo Challenge

I finally registered for the Mount Diablo Challenge. It's a tough task to climb 3,249 ft over 11.2 km under 1 hour. But I am taking the challenge. Have 3 months for preparation. Unfortunately because of the delay in registering I missed the first 2 waves.
http://www.savemountdiablo.org/activities_events_chal.html

Inability or Disinterest?

I dont know what it is?

Good in everyday life

I met this lady called Chris at a physical therapy office. She was very helpful and when I started a conversation with her regarding Anitha's PT sessions and the coming colorado ride, she started giving good advice borne out of her own experiences. And also about how it feels to have prepared a lot and not being able to ride because of some physical problem just before the ride. She talked nicely to me for a long time and I was wondering the why was she being so good taking out her office time and talking to just another customer. Her voice was genuine and it was not a trained customer service representative's voice. In this world where everybody seems to be so busy and pressed out for time (doing what?) somebody unknown taking time out for you is a scarcity. It humbles you when you receive good from unknown quarters of life. It adds strength to the belief that you can do good by small things in your daily life. You don't have to be a Mahatma.

Ennui

"For too long we have been dreaming a dream from which we are now
waking up: the dream that if we just improve the socioeconomic
situation of people, everything will be okay, people will become
happy. The truth is that as the struggle for survival has subsided,
the question has emerged: survival for what? Ever more people today
have the means to live, but no meaning to live for." - Viktor E Frankl

Irrepressible Desire

I had a desire. I kept pushing it to the wall but it would always come back after a brief hiatus. For various reasons I gave a blind eye to it, but it would never subside. Somebody said, that you cannot kill a desire, you only have to fulfill it.

My Hero calls it a day

Rahul Dravid, my long-time hero and idol as a cricketer and a person, has retired from test cricket. The fact that I am blogging about it almost two days late, calls for some deep introspection.
Numerous articles have been written about the diligent, the hardworking, the gentleman, the true ambassador of the game, the quintessential wall. He knew what he was born for and he carried that duty to perfection. I remember reading this article about him, which compared the two geniuses: Sachin and Rahul. While Sachin was a gifted genius, Rahul was a self-made one. You could not become a Sachin, but you could aspire to become a Rahul, but it's extremely difficult for the same reason.
I was lucky to have seen him on couple of occasions. The class in his batting and his demeanor, can never be forgotten. In those early years, his batting caught my attention and I soon became his admirer and fan. I think it was not just his batting, but the way he performed on/off the field that drew me towards him. I have not been following cricket too-closely for quite some time, but if ever there was a desire to watch a match it was primarily to see him bat.

The fact that "The Hindu" carried a front-page section for his retirement speaks of his greatness. The title is 'Standing tall, ‘The Wall' bows out'.
Here's his retirement press conference : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qteHves1MYQ
Anybody who had contributed so much to cricket would have loved to have a farewell on the field, but he chose it inappropriate to do that considering that this decision was after the completion of a series and hanging in there for one last test for just this reason would be selfish. That's the person he is. I wish I will continue to hear of him from the press. I hope he would write an auto-biography one day so that I could peek into his life, but I am sure he will not do that. He's too modest to do something like that. Some people want to be nice, and some people are just nice.

Amul...too has reserved a billboard for this moment:-
http://www.amul.com/files/hits/amul-hits-1402.jpg
http://www.amul.com/files/hits/amul-hits-1394.jpg