tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40615203092535772282024-03-05T13:22:11.944+05:30My experiences with life...An attempt to connect and share some of the interesting experiences that have made significant impact on the way I look at life...Vinod Mathurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415243592969414360noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061520309253577228.post-62724412310889985872023-09-07T19:45:00.006+05:302023-09-07T20:19:33.839+05:30The Grand "Puzzle"It was an early wintery morning in December in the city of Bhopal. I was getting ready for the day and happened to look out of the hotel window at the main road. The dawn had just broken and there were hardly a few people out there.
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Just then a person sitting in the middle of the road on the divider caught my attention. He was selling newspapers early in the morning and people were stopping by to buy the newspaper from him. While the day was starting off for most of the population, it was the peak business time for him. For his customers, they knew he would be there for them selling the newspapers. </p><p>If you look at this deeper, it is as if everyone is a piece of a puzzle in this world where we all fit together perfectly. Each person plays a crucial role in the grand scheme of things, just like that missing piece you desperately search for when completing a jigsaw puzzle. </p><p>Another example being, when you are on a long drive, you know that there will be food and water, petrol, etc. available somewhere on the way. There are people who are ensuring this. The supply chain runs deep and all of us unknowingly depend on it for every small thing in life. </p><p>We may have different talents, skills, and quirks, but our interdependency on each other is what makes life interesting. So let's embrace our uniqueness and appreciate the fact that we need each other. After all, it's the connections we make with others that bring color to our lives. </p><p>When you feel low, remember you are someone's missing puzzle piece. And, when success gets into your head, remember that you are only one piece in the whole puzzle :-)
</p>Vinod Mathurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415243592969414360noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061520309253577228.post-27470362251535893912020-09-13T16:05:00.007+05:302020-09-13T19:18:43.439+05:30What can digital identities teach us?<p style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="font-family: PT Serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Remember the first time you got a digital identity on a social media platform. Once you started using it actively, you invested into it. You built a network, you started saving posts, liking and archiving photos, voicing opinions, receiving comments and appreciations. Gradually, this digital identity became a part of your life. And over a period of time, it might have even become who you are!</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="font-family: PT Serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="font-family: PT Serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What if, you were to shut down or delete this identity? Imagine the emotions you would go through. Depending on how much you have invested in it, higher would be the turmoil of dropping it. Some of us may be better at dropping it, others may be not.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="font-family: PT Serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>
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</span></span><p style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="font-family: PT Serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The same is true in our lives. A small child is free in the mind and happy. It is willing to drop things and move on. As the investment into building 'I' or 'Me' increases, the freedom decreases. As the amount of memories increase, the more difficult it is let go. By the time the child becomes an adult ready to be on their own, the identity is firmly established. It is only downhill from there on. As you build your career, your name, your position - you get more and more bound by the identity.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="font-family: PT Serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>
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</span></span><p style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="font-family: PT Serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">If you are lucky, then in the old age, it may strike you that all you have built will be over. As the famous proverb of the past aptly summarizes it: "After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box"</span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="font-family: PT Serif;"><span> </span></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV4t_xUy8JxhoFAmNU8h9xl0QnMyZGu2u3-5QuMnqyAhJaNAy5-53pgvZ-MYsBTpWpJe74pKZBM690jvU3x1qZmhxRrJXEQ8n5oYfIv07-YUFvukc4132WhohXpjxL8Il69e0N3B_FBeY/s2048/ChessPawns.jpg" style="font-family: "pt serif"; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV4t_xUy8JxhoFAmNU8h9xl0QnMyZGu2u3-5QuMnqyAhJaNAy5-53pgvZ-MYsBTpWpJe74pKZBM690jvU3x1qZmhxRrJXEQ8n5oYfIv07-YUFvukc4132WhohXpjxL8Il69e0N3B_FBeY/w400-h225/ChessPawns.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></p><p style="height: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "PT Serif"; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="font-family: PT Serif;"><span>So what is the big fuss over one's iden</span></span></span><span><span style="font-family: PT Serif;"><span>tity? A c</span></span></span><span><span style="font-family: PT Serif;"><span>aterpillar would never become a butterfly, if it would not let go of its identity. As <a href="https://www.srisriravishankar.org/" target="_blank">Sri Sri</a> once said, even if you are the most famous in the world, there will still be a large population who would not know you.</span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="font-family: PT Serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="font-family: PT Serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Open your eyes and see. What are you running after? What are you trying to build? This realization would be the start of one's spiritual journey. A journey towards eternal joy, happiness and love…</span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: PT Serif;"></span></span></p>Vinod Mathurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415243592969414360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061520309253577228.post-29803954124807555972018-09-18T12:06:00.001+05:302020-09-13T16:11:52.420+05:30Investing in one self - Economics 101<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: PT Serif; font-size: medium;">'Too much work and no time to learn'; 'Too exhausted to learn' - are some complaints from working professionals and 'Too much to learn and not sure what to do with it' are complaints from students. Time is a scarce commodity and all of us have only 24 hours in a day. How we deploy these 24 hours is the single most factor that will determine success in whichever way you define/ aspire for.<br />
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The connection to Economics 101 came up in a random discussion with my teenage daughter. There is a concept called 'Production Possibility Frontier (PPF)' that is taught in Economics. It talks about a fundamental choice to be made in deploying scarce manpower. This can be used to produce necessities or defense equipment, or other such options. PPF gives a framework to deploy a scarce resource (the fundamental problem) based on the opportunity cost, production efficiency, consumption efficiency and economies of scale.<br />
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While the application of this concept has been primarily for a society or an organization, it can be applied at an individual level too. On any day or over time, I can choose to spend the time 'working/ fulfilling duties/ using the skills' or invest in 'developing new/ honing existing skills'. You can add 'leisure/ enjoyment' also as a third choice. For simplicity, let us look at the PPF graph for the first two choices only:<br />
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There are three different aspects of this worth looking into:<br />
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<li>'Investment' does not give us immediate results and takes time away from immediate tasks. Hence, one is tempted to completely focus on current work and ignore the investment activities. However, we need to note that these frontiers are not static. By improving efficiency and learning new skills, this PPF can shift right significantly. In the worst case, if the skills are no longer useful, it may even shift left.</li>
<li>The opportunity cost (what you lose on one dimension by moving resources to the other choice) varies based on where you are operating on the curve. So, moving 30-60 minutes of your time to investment may not impact your work much. But, if you are already spending 1 hour and you want to spend another 1 hour, it may impact the work output. The same holds when you move from the other side.</li>
<li>PPF also tells us that if you are not operating on the frontier, you are not working at your complete potential. All of us can vouch that in this case, time can be wasted in many different ways :-)</li>
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Applying these insights, we can see:<br />
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<li><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline;">Right Efficiency</span><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">: We need to track where we are spending our time to first ensure that we are on the frontier of efficiency and not wasting time that prevents us from achieving the potential.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline;">Right Mix</span><span>: Once we are at max efficiency, achieving an ideal mix based on the stage of life is essential - as a student or working professional. Focus on applying what you learn and learning while you work.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline;">Right Shift</span><span>: The frontier can be moved significantly only by investing time in one self - whether it is new skills (soft skills to domain knowledge). If not, there will just be incremental changes. This is best done by self-discipline or it can be mandated by leaders of teams.</span></li>
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In my experience, meditation is one such daily investment that yields great benefits. Half an hour per day invested into meditation can significantly right-shift the curve allowing you to deliver much more than you could have done without it. Regular practice makes the right shifted curve a new normal. You can learn more about the simplest and most effective one that I follow at <a href="http://www.artofliving.org/">www.artofliving.org</a>.<br />
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Think about how you can apply this in your life or help team members/ friends get out of the trap of growth-less-'busy'-ness. Do share your experience below.</span></div>
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Vinod Mathurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415243592969414360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061520309253577228.post-70401916885003017052018-04-14T14:23:00.003+05:302020-09-13T16:48:17.561+05:30Why so many New Years? - Part 2 (De-mystifying Jyotish Siddhanta - Ganita)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Happy New Year once again!!! Today 14th April - is celebrated as Puthandu, Vishu, Baisakhi, Bohag Bihu and other names in many parts of India.</span></div>
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Having discussed the difference between the Jyotish (sidereal) and tropical (seasonal) calendars, the next question we look into is 'why are there different versions in this approach'? The ancient seers understood the impact the celestial bodies have on human mind and body. Out of the many such celestial bodies (Graha) - nine of them are considered most important (Nava-Graha). Out of these nine, the largest 2 that are visible to humans easily and govern daily routines are the Sun (Surya) and the Moon (Chandra).</span></div>
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Almost all Jyotish calendars that are in use, work with the movement of either the Sun (solar) or a combination of Sun and Moon (luni-solar). Surya represents the human self and governs the daily routines of the entire creation on earth. Chandra has a significant impact on water (as seen during tides) and in turn, the human mind. We have heard the word 'lunatic' :-) that is derived from the same root word of 'lunar'. New moon (Amavasya) or Full moon (Purnima) days are specially called out to be cautious.</span></div>
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As these calendars are not season based, we need to find a reference point in the space that we can use for defining the movements and start/ end points. This is the next foundation stone of Jyotish Siddhanta - the reference screen. Our universe is very interestingly designed and it turns out that most of the celestial systems in our galaxy are in a narrow plane. Given the relative movement of our solar system and the other star constellations in the vicinity, they give us a good 'almost static' reference screen in the background.</span></div>
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Astronomers in different cultures worldwide mostly narrowed down to 12 such star clusters that are more or less equally spaced out, and could serve as a reference. This helped divide the 360<span style="vertical-align: super;">o</span> reference screen into 12 parts. Even though the Earth revolved around the Sun, when you observe the Sun from Earth, you would see one of these reference clusters behind the Sun. These 12 clusters are now called Zodiac signs or Rashis. This is pictorially shown below (Image via <a href="http://ircamera.as.arizona.edu/astr_250/Lectures/LECTURE_01.HTM" target="_blank">Marcia Rieke</a>)</span></div>
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This system allows you to reference locations of Surya and other Grahas on a celestial background. For simplicity, these 12 clusters are assumed to be equal in the radial time spread of 30<span style="vertical-align: super;">o</span> each. So, at any point in time, you can draw out the locations of all Grahas on this backdrop and that would become the Jyotish chart of that time.</span></div>
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Coming back to the calendar - the two primary versions that are in use are Solar and Luni-solar. In this list of Rashis, Aries (Mesha) is usually considered to be the start by Indian and Western astrologers alike.</span></div>
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The Solar calendar tell us that the <i><u>new year would be when the Sun enters the Mesha rashi</u></i> for the first time and that is today <i><u>14th April</u></i>! This calendar would always have 12 months - one for each rashi as the Sun completes the 360<span style="vertical-align: super;">o</span> movement. This date would gradually shift by a day over a sixty year time period due to the difference between the Jyotish and Seasonal calendar.</span></div>
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The Luni-solar calendar calculates the month start on the next day of Amavasya. There are versions that use the next day of Purnima too - let us keep it aside for today. This tell us that the new year is on the next day after Amavasya (New moon), just before the Sun enters Mesha rashi - so that the Sun moves into Mesha rashi during this month. This new year was <i><u>Gudi Padwa that we celebrated in the last post</u></i>! The number of months would also vary between 12 and 13 - more on this later.<br />
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Hope this gives some insights into the different Jyotish calendars. More on this in the next post… till then, let us watch Surya along with the other Grahas transit through the 12 Rashis on this celestial stage.</span></div>
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Vinod Mathurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415243592969414360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061520309253577228.post-42013932923482509102018-03-18T22:56:00.001+05:302020-09-13T16:49:01.518+05:30Why so many New Years? - Part 1 (De-mystifying Jyotish Siddhanta - Ganita)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: PT Serif; font-size: medium;">Even though 1st January is widely accepted as the new year, each community and culture has its own new year. In fact, the Indian Calendar Reform Committee that was set up in 1952 identified more than 30 well developed Vedic (Hindu) calendars that are in use across different parts of India!!! Today being <u><b>Ugadi (Gudhi Padwa)</b></u>, it may be an apt day to start this series and share what I have been to learn about Jyotish Siddhanta - a subject that deals with astronomical calculations and measurements.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: PT Serif; font-size: medium;"><b>'What exactly is a new year?'</b>. Time, as we know it, is continuous. We cannot comprehend the start nor the end of it. As <a href="https://www.srisriravishankar.org/" target="_blank">Sri Sri</a> says, time is not linear-continuous, it is spherical! Understanding this will need quite some appreciation of theoretical physics/ spirituality and we will discuss it under another post. </span></div>
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New year, or the definition of an year, helps us put markers on this infinite scale of time. As we measure distance from one city to another, an year measures the distance on the time dimension. As the distance can be measured from any point, any origin; the year can also technically have any starting point. And that can be a New Year. In fact, we do have anniversaries and birthdays that do the same.</span></div>
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Definitions of a start and end of year helps us take stock of the progress in our lives, businesses, relationships and plan for the next period of time. It is large enough to encompass different seasons and yet small enough to have 80-100 such cycles in one life time. </span></div>
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Most of our life revolves around the seasons that we experience on earth. So, what better than to define an year as a repetition of seasons. This also translates into one revolution of earth around the sun. Thus, was born a basic form of calendar that was based on seasons. It has 4 anchor points - the 2<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>equinoxes (equal day and night duration), the longest day and the shortest day. These 4 anchor points define the duration of the year. </span></div>
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One could choose any date as the new year and have any definition of small intervals (months) within that. For some reason, the current Gregorian calendar, with variable month durations, became widely accepted with 1st Jan as the new year. We will talk more about this in the next part.</span></div>
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Life would be simple if the nature was that simple :-) There was one additional complexity that was solved by the Indian calendars. The astronomers found that, in the space, one revolution of earth around the sun is a bit longer than the one defined by these seasonal calendars! What that means is, if we were to mark a point in space on the earth's orbit and call the year as the time taken for earth to come back to the same point on the orbit - it would not match with our duration as measured by the tropical (seasonal) calendars.</span></div>
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Why would that be? It turns out that earth has 3 types of movements - not just rotation and revolution that we have studied in the school. There is a 3rd movement - similar to a spinning top whose 'axis of spin' itself rotates. This movement is now called 'precession of the equinoxes'. The difference created by this movement was added in Indian horoscopes as 'Ayanamsa'. Over an extended period of time, this implies that the equinox on earth will occur at a different point on earth's celestial orbit! </span></div>
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The difference is quite small and the accumulation of this difference is approximately 1 day (1 degree) over 60 years. This makes it hard to notice it in one lifespan. How did the Indian Jyotish experts found this this out, is a mystery. Hence, all the Indian new years, festivals are based on the astronomical positions of the sun and moon - rather the seasonal calendar. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: PT Serif; font-size: medium;"><b>Happy Ugadi (New Year) to all of you</b> - welcoming the <b>Vilambi Samvatsara</b> (Vilambi is the name of this year in the cycle of 60 that repeats itself after that) on the Gregorian day of 18 March 2018. This also coincides with the start of spring season - with 'new'-ness in the air.</span></div>
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The other implication that may shock you, is that if you follow western astrology, that relies on the tropical calendar, then there is a 70% likelihood, that your sun sign is not the one that you think it is :-)</span></div>
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More on that in the <u><i>next part… </i></u>hopefully, before the next new year on 14th April! Does this cause change in the earth's average temperature across the year? We will find that out in the coming parts of this series.</span></div>
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Vinod Mathurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415243592969414360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061520309253577228.post-44338482982798979952017-10-01T11:04:00.003+05:302020-09-13T16:49:56.296+05:30Science behind Change Management<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="direction: ltr;"><div style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><div style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><div style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: PT Serif; font-size: medium;">Have you wondered why some new ideas are readily accepted, while others are not? Sometimes what you think is a small change faces a lot of resistance and other times drastic changes are done easily. This is often debated in management classrooms and a lot of theories and approaches in psychology/ organization dynamics try to explain this. </span></div>
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Many scientists/ engineers who become managers and consultants struggle with handling/ managing change. This also stems from the fact that our education system breaks down learning and knowledge into separate compartments and do not readily allow mixing of concepts. Science is a disciplined approach to explain the workings of the universe. But we have restricted that to physical objects that we can perceive because it relies on observations and measurements. Hence, psychology or behavioral science is treated differently and people are made to believe that these are different. </span></div>
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All of us remember reading 'Newton's Laws of Motion' in our school days. If you read the first law carefully, it gives us a great insight: "An object will continue to remain at rest or move in a straight line unless it is acted upon by an unbalanced force". What this tells us is that there are 3 types of inertia - Inertia of rest, Inertia of motion and Inertia of direction.</span></div>
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This law holds good also to behaviors and organization dynamics. </span></div>
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And more the inertia, more is the force required to alter course.</span></div>
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Now comes the interesting part - we have also studied the concept of levers where fulcrums/ pivots can magnify the force applied. So while one approach could be to keep increasing the force to alter the course, a smart way is identify the right pivot and apply the right amount of force to make the change.</span></div>
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The key is to identify the right pivot - what is called as leverage in management jargon. <a href="https://www.srisriravishankar.org/" target="_blank">Sri Sri Ravi Shankar</a> says that emotions are a thousand times more powerful than intellect. A strong intellect can keep a check on the emotions, but when a storm/ wave of emotion comes in, the intellect gets washed away. Something that you can hold on to in such situations are your values.</span></div>
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Do we choose an intellectual, emotional or value lever? That is what a good change management design is all about. Need help designing your change management program, you can reach out through the comments section.</span></div>
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True science should be able to explain physical, mental, emotional - all layers of the universe along with their interdependence. This is what we call as spiritual knowledge in this land. And it is time we encourage a holistic learning/ perspective to life around us.</span><br />
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Vinod Mathurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415243592969414360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061520309253577228.post-80682797830428340292017-07-11T12:46:00.001+05:302020-09-13T16:52:55.260+05:30When zero is the same as infinity<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I once asked Poojya Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji, "I am very possessive, what should I do?" The usual response to such a question is acquiring knowledge to drop the possessiveness. However, Guruji's response was, "Become more possessive, feel possessive about the whole world, the whole universe". It was many years later that I really understood the depth of the statement.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: PT Serif; font-size: medium;"><span>Adi Shankaracharya's Atmashatkam (Nirvanashatkam) has a line that says '</span><span>अहम् भोजनं नैव भोज्यं न भोक्ता</span><span>'. Here </span><span>भोजनं (</span><span>bhojanam) not only implies food, but the objects of experience or enjoyment. The phrase then means - I am neither the object of experience/ enjoyment, nor the process of experiencing/ enjoying, nor the experiencer/ enjoyer. '</span><span>चिदानन्दरूपः शिवोऽहम् शिवोऽहम्</span><span>'. I am the eternal bliss-form element that is Shiva.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: PT Serif; font-size: medium;"><span><span>At another satsang, I hear a very beautiful bhajan that said '</span><span>मैं हूँ मंजिल, मैं हूँ सफ़र भी, </span></span><span>मैं </span><span>ही मुसाफिर </span><span><span>हूँ' </span><span>The devotee here says - I am the destination, I am the journey and I am the traveler himself'.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: PT Serif; font-size: medium;"><span>One wonders how can both these be true. At one point, I say that I am nothing and the other point I am everything. This is the beauty of spiritual knowledge that not only accepts multiple dimensions of Truth, but also propagates it. On one hand it allows you to detach and drop all that is sensed and perceived. On the other hand, it also tells you that all that you see around has emerged from the same 'Me' and it is all 'Me'. I believe that this multi-dimensional knowledge is the strength in the culture of </span><span>भारत</span><span> (India).</span></span></div>
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It is like a having a dream. You are not in the dream, nor are you the dream - yet the dream is in you and so are all the characters and their experiences. Depending on which side of the mirror you are, your spiritual journey is towards zero or towards infinity. You will reach the same destination.</span></div>
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Deeper understanding of the existence that we perceive will take you to the same level as disassociating from the existence. Either embrace the whole thing with deeper understanding and realize the nature of the dream. Or drop it with detachment and watch the movie.<br />
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The infinity that we see around us is nothing but a zero - like the infinite dream world is nothing in the waking reality.<br />
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<span style="font-family: PT Serif; font-size: medium;">Enjoy the confusion and bliss at the same time...</span></div>
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Vinod Mathurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415243592969414360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061520309253577228.post-50976000860061107202017-07-04T09:57:00.004+05:302020-09-13T16:50:59.890+05:30Water in the wave<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span><span style="font-family: PT Serif; font-size: medium;">Richard Feynman (of the Feynman lectures in Physics fame) in his first lecture asks a very interesting question - If you knew that there would be a cataclysmic end to the world and you could leave one message for the next civilization - what would that be? Something short and insightful that modern science has taken ages to figure out. While each of us could have a favorite, Feynman said the basics of atomic physics or 'everything is made up of atoms' would be a good one to leap frog generations of research (atoms here imply the building blocks of protons, neutrons and electrons).</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span><span style="font-family: PT Serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span><span style="font-family: PT Serif; font-size: medium;">It is not just for the scientific reasons, or to pass on to next generations. This knowledge is necessary for us to know even in our own lifetime. We now also know that matter and energy are interconvertible as given by Einstein's famous equation. The recent discovery of the 'God particle' also takes this to a deeper understanding that even the building blocks of atoms are eventually made up of the same particle.</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span><span style="font-family: PT Serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span><span style="font-family: PT Serif; font-size: medium;">So, at one level everything around us is made up of the same substance (energy/ atoms), yet, has different forms and uses. Knowing this brings a certain level of calmness and expansion in the mind. This knowledge is, in fact, a pre-requisite for someone on the spiritual path and is the essence of all religious philosophies. Even modern day corporate management research show that the sense of being connected to a larger ecosystem brings a high level of confidence and success.</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span><span style="font-family: PT Serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span><span style="font-family: PT Serif; font-size: medium;">This is one point where everything merges - science; religion and spiritual knowledge; and the experiences on the spiritual path. In the movie 'Matrix - Part1', when Neo finally realizes this knowledge, he attains peace and gets his superpowers.</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: "PT Serif"; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Kj4bsF5YxwA5szTo3ReX_fKl8djCvKRoQRCWantBexS0W2wkObmfHw_6k4b99nLAwWZGrgvE3dGWjnCvnw9GPmONLRdan4TVrL_8RsfQ1mkM8jjzYf7untBPYjtfxiH0IcRXAlyj840/s1648/matrix-enlightenment.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: PT Serif; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="796" data-original-width="1648" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Kj4bsF5YxwA5szTo3ReX_fKl8djCvKRoQRCWantBexS0W2wkObmfHw_6k4b99nLAwWZGrgvE3dGWjnCvnw9GPmONLRdan4TVrL_8RsfQ1mkM8jjzYf7untBPYjtfxiH0IcRXAlyj840/w625-h304/matrix-enlightenment.jpg" width="625" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: PT Serif; font-size: medium;"><br /><span><br /></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: "PT Serif"; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: "PT Serif"; font-size: medium;">As Yoga Vashishta puts it: 'Like, when you are focused on the water, you will see only the ocean and not the wave; so will a knowledgeable mind focused on the pure consciousness (Brahman) will see only It all around'. What do you see in the wave - a wave or water in the ocean?</span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: "PT Serif"; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtCfR7XHOcYBU-8Pl7g4Ju0kqj2HsN6vGMWR9CWpZt3VY56rFHMx27-t0Bw1K_rzOwvpPgNkQ3DScGvAfzPXrhVN05ttnVCUZEaQV9ZLQ2UmS-5aSWsDq8zxjjZM0mI5NJEWpxUaTsQ-k/s2048/Tropical-Blue-Ocean-Water.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: PT Serif; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1210" data-original-width="2048" height="369" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtCfR7XHOcYBU-8Pl7g4Ju0kqj2HsN6vGMWR9CWpZt3VY56rFHMx27-t0Bw1K_rzOwvpPgNkQ3DScGvAfzPXrhVN05ttnVCUZEaQV9ZLQ2UmS-5aSWsDq8zxjjZM0mI5NJEWpxUaTsQ-k/w625-h369/Tropical-Blue-Ocean-Water.jpg" width="625" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: PT Serif; font-size: medium;"><br /><span><br /></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: "PT Serif"; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: PT Serif; font-size: medium;"><span>'Now' is as good a time, as any other, to start the journey from the wave to the water. This journey, like any other, is possible only with a guide. We are blessed to have a living spiritual Master - </span><b>Poojya Sri Sri Ravishankar ji</b><span> walking this world amongst us. His simple breathing and meditation techniques like </span><b>Sudarshan Kriya</b><span> and </span><b>Sahaj Samadhi</b><span> meditation are a great aid along with his guiding principles of the Art of Living.</span></span></div><div style="direction: ltr;"><div style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 0in; width: 8.6715in;"><div style="direction: ltr; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 0in; width: 8.6715in;"><div style="margin: 0in;"><div style="margin: 0in;"><div style="margin: 0in;"><div><span style="font-family: PT Serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div></div>
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<span style="font-family: PT Serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Come and experience the ocean…</span><br /></span>
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</div></div>Vinod Mathurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415243592969414360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061520309253577228.post-29960836685890170262017-06-16T00:11:00.001+05:302017-06-16T00:11:58.067+05:30Realm of many possibilities<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Imagine if the human race ceased to exist and the ruins were to be discovered centuries later by a new civilization. What would the thoughts be on the way we communicated and shared knowledge? Given the kind of electronic technologies we use today, most of the knowledge/ information is stored in silicon chips and transferred via cables and mobile towers. If these degenerated over years, the next race would question many things that we take for granted. For instance, how were we able to talk to someone without a physical wire over long distances? How did we know what is happening in any part of the world instantly? How did we know about the galaxies and stars?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1svKsrAl6U-j2vV8P2u7XSkuaoe-JL-I0c83JwkOR_1cfe8NhwzE4S91HYGYwmUCxj1UZOPlymb0J-YYIicThg_xns4kNxiy46N2IoQLQ5tHWBK3idKOww1bxbqLcJMGM4O-_08r_Cj0/s1600/mobile-phone-2224001_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="556" data-original-width="936" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1svKsrAl6U-j2vV8P2u7XSkuaoe-JL-I0c83JwkOR_1cfe8NhwzE4S91HYGYwmUCxj1UZOPlymb0J-YYIicThg_xns4kNxiy46N2IoQLQ5tHWBK3idKOww1bxbqLcJMGM4O-_08r_Cj0/s320/mobile-phone-2224001_1920.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The new race would restart their journey of discoveries and inventions. It is not necessary that the new technologies would be the same as the ones we use today. In such a situation, one would surely end up believing that any earlier race/ civilization would have been very primitive and staying in forests and caves without any advancements.<br />
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Any story that survived from this civilization would be looked at as myth. Now, if we look at us today and think of civilizations that may have existed millenniums ago; are we not in the same boat? We look at how advanced the older civilizations were, from the prism of what we do today. Since we do not understand that, we label many events as myths. How did the Rishis get the knowledge of the galaxies and stars sitting on earth? How did they figure out different types of weapons? How did they store and access knowledge? Were they able to communicate real-time across the world? We do not know these answers in the same way as someone would laugh off if they were told that we store information in small chips made of silicon and metal!!! And that there are invisible waves that travel all over the world and transmit this information!<br />
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Life on this planet and universe is not linear, not even circular, but spherical - according to Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. When we open up to the many possibilities that events can take, it gives us a much better understanding of life itself. While there may be some real myths, we also need to understand the limitations of what we can perceive and observe. There is a very small band of frequencies that we can see, hear, smell, taste and even feel. Acknowledgement of the limitations itself can open up the mind to 'Maybe’ and that is the first step on the journey… into the realm of many possibilities...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM-j7bKHqK4SoGZv2CO380R_cwtiZG6nmW7pTH_Jh1elIgLoEwBWc2LCzarj5uhTriHJIbjio3cCn8LTKK5ZbohPD6NuQa5CXpF9jWtbvAEJfmI0xTzkMoOPK5HQ13qlkOD5yUT8r0nJ0/s1600/sphere.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM-j7bKHqK4SoGZv2CO380R_cwtiZG6nmW7pTH_Jh1elIgLoEwBWc2LCzarj5uhTriHJIbjio3cCn8LTKK5ZbohPD6NuQa5CXpF9jWtbvAEJfmI0xTzkMoOPK5HQ13qlkOD5yUT8r0nJ0/s200/sphere.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Vinod Mathurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415243592969414360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061520309253577228.post-91408173654853751222016-12-17T19:27:00.002+05:302020-09-13T19:24:51.450+05:30Use the ink before it dries...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: PT Serif; font-size: medium;">
If you have owned an inkjet printer, you have probably experienced the drying of ink cartridges, if not used frequently. The case is similar for a pen refill/ cartridge or paint colors. Each of these have a life span before which you have to use it, else it dries and becomes unusable.<br />
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Sometimes the inks or colors can be revived by adding water or some solvent and sometimes it can go beyond reuse. The only real choice you have is to use it or allow it to decay over time. <Obviously, if your usage is high, you can upgrade to a laser printer where the ink does not dry! :-)></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: PT Serif; font-size: medium;"><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY0rrdjrqTdYkVEQdgCOaSIhk7Y8aOjDZ9fvvCqgFRaO8-JTO8NwIyS1Gt0KL4jKCwsV54lABDYxd73JkNLrOZLubM0UUQ5motRpCDSkUtqq-n_dgKB-cqQ8fj0uBV70i7L5JXQDhcNgE/s1600/dry-ink.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: PT Serif; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY0rrdjrqTdYkVEQdgCOaSIhk7Y8aOjDZ9fvvCqgFRaO8-JTO8NwIyS1Gt0KL4jKCwsV54lABDYxd73JkNLrOZLubM0UUQ5motRpCDSkUtqq-n_dgKB-cqQ8fj0uBV70i7L5JXQDhcNgE/w500-h350/dry-ink.jpg" width="500" /></span></a></div>
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The same idea holds true for the skills we possess or learn. If we do not keep using those, we will lose those over time. Talents and skills have been given to us to make use of and not to keep in a show case. Many of us either do not find the time or keep waiting for the perfect opportunity to use our talents. In the process, the talents become blunt and eventually go away.<br />
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The sacred texts also say that if you do not use your talents now, then they would not be given to you in your next birth.<br />
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Even in a supply chain management context, we see production planners maintaining a minimum usage of old or niche technologies to keep the manufacturing capabilities alive. They do not want to be caught off guard when they have to produce large quantities of these products.<br />
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If the ink has dried, not all is lost :-) You can either hope that someone inspires you like Jamavanta (Jambavan) reminded Hanuman. Or, you can go deep into meditation practices that can not only revive the parched skills, but also allow new talents to blossom. You can experience simple and deep meditation from the <a href="http://www.artofliving.org/" target="_blank">Art of Living here</a>. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVM_BojDoDnyoGz1haoYjQd5Uk1ZGjqn0zxKCibSPAhWAP-vCedOcBNthToHpm9HViodaLtuzL6Zpf3gXopJukdl8kqDYJcfYI28WHaIH2vdIUyRibhxZ4yMmAqAXe4hq2fLwOFs-0W1k/s1600/jambavan-reveals-the-secret.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: PT Serif; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVM_BojDoDnyoGz1haoYjQd5Uk1ZGjqn0zxKCibSPAhWAP-vCedOcBNthToHpm9HViodaLtuzL6Zpf3gXopJukdl8kqDYJcfYI28WHaIH2vdIUyRibhxZ4yMmAqAXe4hq2fLwOFs-0W1k/w386-h319/jambavan-reveals-the-secret.jpg" width="386" /></span></a></div>
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So, go ahead and use the ink before it dries…</span></div>
Vinod Mathurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415243592969414360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061520309253577228.post-76305503208948666832016-11-06T22:20:00.000+05:302016-11-06T22:20:32.405+05:30Tracking cookies in real life<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A few days ago, my wife and I were discussing about dhoti pants. And minutes later, I see ads popping up on my smartphone asking me to buy those online. I am sure many of us would have noticed that the smartphones listen to our conversations and present options to take that conversation further.<br />
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Not just your smartphone, your computer also tracks your moves on the internet using 'cookies'. These smart cookies tweak the content coming to you and show you relevant ads on the sites you browse. In case you have not noticed, there is usually a small disclaimer on each site informing you that cookies will be installed on your computer should you choose to continue browsing the site.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpSkaAzjTKvPIYrJTTgW5zflPRLLVwV6uuEri7hXc7Mq-dMpG1ITSWNIERIdQqR41nKy_Dcdm5f2P3a2qY2TbYAyEcltHe3gfhfDGL0qCCkdq-Yo3fMXIoMR4056tPNRleUtHL2_-4z5o/s1600/searching_cookie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpSkaAzjTKvPIYrJTTgW5zflPRLLVwV6uuEri7hXc7Mq-dMpG1ITSWNIERIdQqR41nKy_Dcdm5f2P3a2qY2TbYAyEcltHe3gfhfDGL0qCCkdq-Yo3fMXIoMR4056tPNRleUtHL2_-4z5o/s1600/searching_cookie.jpg" /></a></div>
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Some of these cookies are essential for managing your current login session while others like 'tracking cookies' are the ones that store your browsing history and patterns for future usage. This data is then used by corporations to show you content that is relevant to you. In other words, you are fed content similar to things that you are focusing on.<br />
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This also extends to social networks, where you are prompted with friend suggestions based on your profile, interests and the people you are already connected to.<br />
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So, the question that arises is - If an internet network built by humans can do all of these, why do we think the super network in the universe does not have these capabilities? It is said that what you focus on, grows. It is true, because the universe also has its cookies installed in our system. It feeds you a version of reality (content) that is similar to things that you are focusing on :-)<br />
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You notice certain things only after you have started focusing on it. For example, from the time I got actively involved in CSR activities, I have seen an increased coverage of CSR in the newspapers. During the same time, other people around me (colleagues, friends) do not recollect seeing any such trend. This concept has been elaborated in the movie 'The Secret'.<br />
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Many decades of experiments in Quantum Physics have now shown the smallest building blocks in the universe exist only as 'probability waves' and they turn into 'particles' the moment you observe it. It is proved that when you are not focusing on them, they move around like waves in an ocean. The moment you focus on them or try to sense them, they start behaving like small particles and move in straight lines/ defined paths.<br />
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Understanding this phenomenon is path-breaking. Reality is just a wave of probabilities and our focus on it condenses it into particles. So, watch your thoughts, watch your actions and watch the company you keep. All of these contribute to creating a personalized version of reality for you.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1WSVLD6V4DRFnNOWgPhJ4V37et-rk4TF8RU7uqSfvq5lAk4BcrtLE4htaQKERtYk1bFp0jwqwmXTvZnzrfjD5op0zZgqUt9ar381g4y61QZP5uVP0ffPocEYOk3B-5VRM4CR7WcBnyQE/s1600/delete-cookies-monster.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1WSVLD6V4DRFnNOWgPhJ4V37et-rk4TF8RU7uqSfvq5lAk4BcrtLE4htaQKERtYk1bFp0jwqwmXTvZnzrfjD5op0zZgqUt9ar381g4y61QZP5uVP0ffPocEYOk3B-5VRM4CR7WcBnyQE/s320/delete-cookies-monster.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Can we delete these tracking cookies from our system? Definitely, yes! Like you clear the computer cache, you need to keep clearing your mind cache. Daily practice of breathing and meditation techniques surely helps in erasing the browsing history and patterns from your system :-) <br />
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You can learn more about the techniques from <a href="http://www.artofliving.org/">Art of Living here</a>…<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(Images sourced from securelaptop.org and askleo.com)</span></div>
Vinod Mathurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415243592969414360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061520309253577228.post-30397794779857672542016-10-10T23:41:00.002+05:302020-09-13T19:29:17.047+05:30Are you right or loyal?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: PT Serif; font-size: medium;">What prompted Vibhishan to join hands with Ram? Why did Bhishma fight for Duryodhan? History is full of incidents where, not just ordinary humans, but even people with great powers had to choose sides. It is the same story today, and will be in the future. When Vibhishan joined sides with Ram, Ram asked Lakshman what would he have done if he was faced with a similar choice? It is a choice between righteousness and loyalty; each gives strength and also its own ending.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn-drPo8MfZalDZnp-lk1dVF0pn-F2DRAZApBjRFxkFeuSJwlwSgbH2iGjlhpKBrx0u7e9YHckYsGIH5XaUt0g4NCn_TjGKkHRWB24PfKkHK-nY61rwHosZ_DzHsHYHcdnHKBwkr9av4M/s1600/vibhishana+and+rama.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: PT Serif; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn-drPo8MfZalDZnp-lk1dVF0pn-F2DRAZApBjRFxkFeuSJwlwSgbH2iGjlhpKBrx0u7e9YHckYsGIH5XaUt0g4NCn_TjGKkHRWB24PfKkHK-nY61rwHosZ_DzHsHYHcdnHKBwkr9av4M/w500-h344/vibhishana+and+rama.jpg" width="500" /></span></a></div>
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Reading various stories from the history makes you realize that the turn of events could have been very different if the leaders of those times had made a different choice. It is not an easy choice and one prays that they are never faced with an "either-or" choice. You can only pray that you are loyal to the right person!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq8zMVGVuGNs5pWMXIg6bYgrvPhagC9aVwtihVZqsUO-ZbVH0rFjxP1uUKdlzlcJK94P2Y9lsTyJoKvrdg2JK4_Gge7jfyayvmcnAQ_ijZ-rMyCAdnJ2JfR5upjL183P-nftkCfHUujRo/s1600/duryodhana+and+bhishma.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: PT Serif; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq8zMVGVuGNs5pWMXIg6bYgrvPhagC9aVwtihVZqsUO-ZbVH0rFjxP1uUKdlzlcJK94P2Y9lsTyJoKvrdg2JK4_Gge7jfyayvmcnAQ_ijZ-rMyCAdnJ2JfR5upjL183P-nftkCfHUujRo/w500-h313/duryodhana+and+bhishma.jpg" width="500" /></span></a></div>
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You may be bound by your word of commitment, rules, traditions, personal interests that may force you to be loyal. Or, you may be so committed to being right and correct, that sometimes you may go even go against yourself and your dear ones.<br />
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So, when Lakshman was asked the question by Ram, he simply replied that he knew that Ram would always be right!<br />
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What would you do? In today's Yug (era), there is often no clear distinction of what is right and what is wrong. Something considered right by you can be considered wrong by the other side. Not only that, there may be more than one side in this tussle, with each side having their own views. <br />
<br />So, ask yourself - What do you stand for? Unquestioned loyalty or firm resolve to be right? Each stand gives strength, but also has its own ending.<br />
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Are you loyal to righteousness or do you believe that being loyal itself is right? One thing for sure, there is no right answer :-)<br />
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All you can ask for is 'Vivek' (intellectual discretion) to distinguish the two and allow you to take appropriate actions - something that meditation and practices like <a href="https://www.srisriravishankar.org/" target="_blank">Sudarshan Kriya</a> can help achieve.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Image credits: yourstory.com and hindufaqs.com</span></div>
Vinod Mathurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415243592969414360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061520309253577228.post-72559912686851501842015-09-24T19:50:00.000+05:302015-09-24T19:50:05.718+05:30The Miraculous Intutive Instinct<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It’s been exactly one year and seven months now, since I first did my Happiness Program designed by Poojya <b><a href="https://twitter.com/SriSri" target="_blank">Sri Sri Ravi Shankar founder of The Art Of Living</a></b>. In this duration, I have seen and felt many benefits of the “Sudarshan Kriya”,a powerful breathing technique,taught in Happiness Program.It’s also so amazing to have a Living Master, guiding you through the ups and downs of life. Every day is a gift of the Divine, filled with bliss, so enchanting, so fruitful. My life has taken a 360 degree turn, a positive turn! Guruji helps me in my daily life, guiding me at every step, just like a father would lead his little one. I feel so blessed to have the Master in my life.<br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-a8cba556-ffad-573f-38a4-1aa4da5a0d94"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="302px;" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/jbmFcxRT3oENj0yZVy8LKxYWnmzB4v0xxA9qOBFJbV9APGwggW5hbY3YB1wTLukTsd8B5OThtzS6v2wfZR_Rx1BqQC8de38JsnBPYivtsdJtL86Z92Ny0fpd16FbxJyI=s1600" style="border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="403px;" /></span></span></div>
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Below I have described a miraculous experience that got me stunned.<br />
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I am a professional, with tight work schedules, and am also actively involved with NGOs. Despite the tedious schedule, I enrolled to do my PostGraduate studies. This was a tough decision for me, as I knew it would be extremely demanding in terms of time and effort. But I decided to go ahead.<br />
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During the course of my studies, there were many assignments to be prepared and submitted by me. One such assignment got me into a real fix. I submitted a couple of drafts for the same, but for some reason, my lecturer was still not happy with my work, and not only that, she also commented in front of the entire class stating that I was totally out of topic! I could not figure what exactly my lecturer wanted, and all she told me when I asked for guidance was “This is a post – graduate paper, not under-graduate” and she gave me a book saying “I hope this will help you.” So I took the thick book and walked towards my car, in dejavu! God, time was running out on me, and I had a great deal of work commitments to complete that week. I did not know how I was going to manage everything.<br />
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The work pressure was getting at me.On reaching back home, I thought with a calm mind and reached the conclusion that there is no point in panicking,I had exactly 5 days to complete the assignment and I had to make the most of it.<br />
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That night, I sat to read the book. It was quite interesting, but it did not seem to answer my quest for the assignment.I read some other material as well, but didn’t really get anywhere. I had only 1 more day to go.To add to my agony,my brother suddenly had some health complications and had to be rushed to the hospital and was then admitted to the ICU. This was one of the most testing times of my life.I prayed to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Guruji in my mind saying “Gurudev, I know you are with me and with my brother too.” This was running like a Japa (Chanting) in my mind. After a few hours, things got stabilized, and the doctors told us that there was nothing to worry.I was more at peace on hearing this soothing piece of news.<br />
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By the time I returned home, it was late at night and the first thing that hit me was, “Oops! My assignment!” I was extremely nervous then, as I knew that if I don’t submit in the morning, I would fail the paper.In a helpless state,I ran to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji’s photo and said, “Gurudev, please help me. I’m not even sure what to ask you for, but please give me some idea,I need to get this assignment done by tomorrow morning”. After that, I had my shower and meditated for sometime.That gave me some calmness and a sudden urge to watch videos of Gurudev.<br />
It was quite strange but I just went ahead and followed my instinct. The very first video that was displayed on the list that day was Guruji talking about the GM crop during one of the Satsangs. Someone asked to send a petition about brinjals, and Guruji explained about the fate of farmers who cultivated BT cotton, and the effects it has on the soil, and also about the many types of original rice breeds which were lost, which we may never bring back!<br />
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Suddenly everything made sense, the contents of the thick book, the title, the comments,everything made sense. My lecturer actually wanted me to think out of the box,about legality and morality, the difference between being legally right & morally right, about Corporate Social Responsibilities, about Business Ethics. And Gurudev’s video had explained it all.<br />
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Five hours passed, and I did not even realize, and my assignment was complete. It was already 6.00 am, just nice for me to get ready and drive to my University, which is about a 2 hour drive from home. All through my journey, I could not stop thanking Sri Sri! The moment I saw my lecturer, I briefly explained to her what I had written, and she smiled and said, “Finally!”<br />
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And guess what – 2 months later, when the results were released, I got the grades I wanted! Guruji! Thank You So Much! No words could express my gratitude. Nothing I do will express my gratitude enough, except to spread HIS message of Love & Peace to ALL!!!<br />
Love You Gurudev! You are my Guru, my mentor, my best friend. What can I say when the DIVINE is present in my life, in the form of my ” Guruji “, holding my hand & guiding me in my journey back “HOME”!!!<br />
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Sri Sri is amongst the foremost spiritual master of today. He does not restrict himself to spiritual work alone. Sudarshan Kriya has been recognised by United Nation and major companies like Google use it as a tool to train their employees. Today’s generation is being led by materialism and consumerism, it is important to nurture the soul too. Sri Sri does exactly this and his simplistic approach appeals to all.<br />
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Jai Gurudev,<br />
Rathaa.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061520309253577228.post-64046177667527854122015-07-01T11:36:00.000+05:302015-07-01T12:24:29.073+05:30Towards A Healthy Life<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />JGD<br /><br />Being in the software industry, I used to work late hours, eat lot of junk food, have meals at irregular timings and would not even do any kind of physical activity or exercise. On the contrary, I used to feel that nothing would happen to me at such a young age, and thus I would keep procrastinating the idea of living a healthy and fit life, in spite of knowing that my father and wife were already facing health issues. Putting a brave front, I would try and move forward.<br />But my health was deteriorating significantly. I used to get frequent headaches. I would wake up early in the morning with severe headaches. Then one fine day, I reluctantly went to the doctor, only to be told that I had high blood pressure. At that time, I was not aware of the reasons for high blood pressure and its long term impacts. I was asked to take BP medicines for a few weeks and then called for a review. While it looked to have settled, the doctor advised me to continue with the medicines.<br /><br />Upon research, I found out as to how deadly BP can be, and its long term impact with medicine. Taking BP medicines also has side effects in the long term. I cursed myself for being so ignorant of the health problems arising due to irregular food and work habits. I realized that I had to accept the situation first. On doing so, I then focused on finding a solution to this health problem, and started some physical activity. It was very difficult to continue due to motivational issues. I started some Yoga but then discontinued in between. Somehow I wasn’t able to regularize my schedule. I was finding the entire process very tough. After 2 years of medication, I decided to give myself one last chance of getting back to shape and worked very hard. I became energetic, lost good amount of weight and started to feel healthy. However the BP was still an issue, and I continued on medication.<br /><br />After 5 years of using BP medicines, in the year 2008, I came to know about the SudharshanKriya and did the AOL course. The first Kriya session was an amazing experience! I instantly fell in love with it and became very curious about it. I started reading books about Guruji, listening to His knowledge tapes, bhajans(devotional songs) etc. The knowledge tapes were just so amazing, and they made me realize as to how little I knew about life and the way of leading a happy life! The course truly transformed me from within.<br />The doctors reviewed my BP on regular visits, and the dosage came down significantly but couldn’t be avoided completely. In 2009, I did my DSN course and learnt the Padmasadhana , its series of Yoga postures. This particular technique swept me off my feet, as I felt very happy and energetic, yet calm and empty, after each session of Padmasadhana. I continued the Padmasadhana religiously! I also prayed to Sri Sri, all these years, to help me get out of this health condition, and I also pledged to lead a healthy life.<br />In the year 2010, my BP came to normal levels. Doctors were surprised at this, and told me that I no longer needed medication. Till date, all regular check-ups continue to show my BP as normal. This was truly a big miracle for me, as health is wealth. It is one of the many instances where Guruji helped me. Sri Sri takes care of each one of us in His own way!<br />Thank you, Gurudev<br />Ardent Devotee<br /><br />I got back my health with spirituality and regular parnayam. It sounds unbelievable. In today’s age of advanced medicine and ultramodern diagnosis systems some of you may dismiss it as tall claims but I am a living testimony of how disease can be transformed with little effort. Modern medicines may surely heal the body but to heal the soul we have to turn to our own ancient system of healing.<br />I am a software professional with a typical life style of late work hours, eating untimely meals and meals consisting of fast food, junk and unhealthy snacks. Being young and energetic I threw caution to wind and never bothered to balance my hectic life with sensible living and healthy eating. I thought I had all the time in the world to take care of myself, but now it is time to enjoy and have fun after all I am still young. I ignored the niggling aches and pains, until I started to wake up frequently in the night with splitting headache. A visit to the doctor became necessary. I was diagnosed having high Blood Pressure. Reluctantly, I accepted the reality and started taking the prescribed medications. This led my quest for a better lifestyle and I sincerely changed my routine to include exercise and yoga. After the initial energy my enthusiasm waned a bit I found some excuse to avoid exercising. Soon this fell by the way side. My BP continued to be a problem.<br />
<br />After five years of struggling and yo-yo regimes I came across program advertising about SudarshanKriya, a breathing technique that has positive effects on the mind and body conducted by Art of Living Foundation. Curious to know more I did the course of Art of Living and experienced it for the first time. This became the turning point in my life. The happiness that I felt from within motivated me to know more about Art of Living and its founder <a href="https://plus.google.com/100994876826282004657" target="_blank">Sri Sri Ravi Shankar</a>. I went through the books published by the foundation, listen to their soulful music and I discovered what I was missing in life. We go about doing mundane activities, getting caught in the routine and meaningless activities and somewhere forget the real purpose and meaning of life. Sri Sri knowledge sessions have given me a new direction to life, I do not claim to be an authority of spirituality but speaking for myself I know that I am self-assured now and a sense of calmness has enveloped me that gives me a quiet confidence that eventually events will take care of itself. Most of the time we get stuck in emotions and reactions that we spend our whole life focussing on things that give us pain than count our blessings but these knowledge sessions are so insightful and Sri Sri’s thoughts on various facets of life gives much needed clarity. <br />
<br />So what has all this to do with my BP? Well the sum effect of all these practises was that my BP was gradually coming down and so was the medication. In 2009 I did the DSN course where we were taught the padmasadhana which is a series of simple asanas. I practised these postures regularly and stated feeling more lively and energetic. Eventually on one of the visit to the doctor I got the best news after years, that my BP is normal and I do not have to continue with the medicine any more. Health is wealth and as Ayurveda says make food your medicine got my health back and in turn gained true knowledge about life and its events. I believe that Sri Sri’s grace and SudarshanKriya have been the guiding factor for the transformation of my life. I wish that everyone gets an opportunity to experience the magic of SudarshanKriya at least once in their life time. As the limitless ocean the divine’s grace is endless and unfathomable. ..It can only be experienced.<br /><br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061520309253577228.post-25728439012008294442014-10-06T23:10:00.000+05:302014-10-06T23:21:12.678+05:30De-mystifying Mathematics (Part 7) – multiplying large numbers by converting to smaller negative digits<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If you were to multiply a number by 9, a common response would be to multiply by 10 and then go back one count. We can extend this same concept to many other multiplication situations.<br />
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What we effectively want to do is reduce the number of large digit multiplications and have more of smaller digits. This would come with the complexity of negatives, but is worth it. </div>
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Let us take an example of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">32 X 48</b>. Multiplying by 8 would result in larger answers, so we can convert 48 to 5(-2)</div>
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The calculations as described in the previous posts give us the answer as <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">1536</b>.</div>
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One more example to illustrate this: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">89 X 72</b></div>
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We can convert 89 to 1(-1)(-1) and 72 to 1(-3)2 </div>
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As you can see, you could get the answer as <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">6408</b> without too many large numbers to worry about.</div>
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This concludes the series of posts on basic arithmetic and how a comprehensive understanding of the placeholder systems can ease out mental calculations. So, do not feel afraid to use the number system in unconventional approaches. </div>
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Most of the mathematics an average person uses is arithmetic and I hope this set of posts would help.</div>
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Watch out for the next set of math topics to demystify…</div>
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Vinod Mathurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415243592969414360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061520309253577228.post-47941272934431973892014-10-05T19:40:00.000+05:302015-03-06T10:58:18.315+05:30A journey with Sudarshan Kriya - how it influenced my thoughts and shaped my life<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Many seasons ago, in my early teenage years, it struck me that I would not remain on this planet indefinitely. There would come a time when I would leave behind all my ‘prized’ possessions. The chain of questions started from what would happen to my belongings, my room and my house, without me. Over a period of time, the questions increased and it probably started the quest – the <a href="http://moreabouttheartofliving.weebly.com/what-is-art-of-living-all-about/quotes-by-sri-sri-ravi-shanakr" target="_blank">quest for something deeper</a>, something unknown. I did not know what I was looking for – there was my intellectual mind and there was a longing.</div>
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This state continued for the years to come. The intellect helped me achieve goals like cracking IIT-JEE without any classroom coaching, securing a good rank and admission into IIT Bombay. The fun loving mind loved enjoying life and calling itself an ‘atheist’, ‘scientist’ and other cool adjectives; yet it would seek solace in reading the Vedic scriptures and deciphering the text in there.</div>
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There was a 'wait' in the 'progress' – moving ahead, but still waiting for something or someone...</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">My first experience with Sudarshan Kriya</i></b></div>
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Maybe it was a chance or something within that drove me to attend the Art of Living course on the IIT campus(<a href="http://vinodmathur.blogspot.com/2014/09/experiences-with-sri-sri-ravi-shankar.html" target="_blank">read more here</a>). On the second day of the course, we did the Sudarshan Kriya and it was probably <u>the</u> turning point in my life. It gave a new thrust to the quest in my life. The adjectives dropped and frankly I was puzzled and astonished that how something as simple as breathing <br />
can create the experience I had. I realized that there are things beyond explanation and I may call myself a scientist – but there are limitations in human understanding.</div>
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The key take away from the course was <a href="http://www.artofliving.org/in-en/what-sudarshan-kriya" target="_blank">Sudarshan Kriya</a> and the home practice. I did not know how it worked, but it worked. It brought about a big change in my behavior, attitude, outlook and confidence. Regular practice of Sudarshan Kriya brought a discipline in my life and a great depth in understanding. The questions about life started getting some answers and new directions. The scriptures started giving me real life insights and ambitions in life became clearer.</div>
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This was the time I was preparing for CAT for admissions into IIMs. Being a scientist at heart <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Verdana; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Verdana; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>:-)</i></span></span></span>, I also experimented on the state of my mind after doing the Sudarshan Kriya. The peace and quiet in the mind was like cleaning and servicing the car. To perform in an exam, I could not immediately shift into the top gear and expect to win the race. Along with my practice tests, this was an important aspect of my preparation. I was able to find an optimal time to accelerate the mind from the meditative state in Sudarshan Kriya to the top performance level for my exams.<br />
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It was fun and a discovery that you can actually have some control on the state of your mind - an important realization that shaped my journey ahead...</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Learning it young</i></b></div>
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The advantage of learning anything at a young age is that it stays with you longer. The mind is fresh and open to experiment. By the time I moved to IIM Ahmedabad, daily practice of the Sudarshan Kriya and meditation was part of my daily routine. I once bumped into a very elderly couple in my hometown who needed help in walking around and could not sit down on the floor. They commented that <i>spiritual practices are for old people and not for the younger generation</i>. I retorted back – <i>at that age when I may not even be able to sit comfortably on the floor for a few minutes, what practices will I do?</i></div>
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In the years to come, I realized that it was so true. This misconception had created such a value gap in the society. The spiritual practices are the most essential in the early formation years so that you can make this part of your life and let the knowledge guide you through the life’s challenges.<br />
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I was fortunate to have learnt Sudarshan Kriya at an early age and have had the privilege to have this knowledge as my constant guide in my life.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Meditation is the best investment</i></b></div>
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There is a usual stereotyping of management graduates – they only think of return on investments! Well, the advantage of doing something over a long period of time allows you to experiment and understand the benefits for yourself.</div>
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There have been times when I have skipped my daily meditation routine, taken short cuts for a variety of ‘justified’ reasons. Was I able to perform my tasks on that day? Yes. Was the quality of work and efficiency at the top most? No! It took me long experiments to learn that I can ‘exist’ without doing the Sudarshan Kriya – but could not call it having ‘lived my life fully’ that day. </div>
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The 30-40 minutes investment in the morning gave me almost 3-4 hours back in return throughout the day. Who would not want those kinds of return? Time was saved due to lower rework, effective communication, better ideas, faster processing speed. How does this happen? Because, the mind is where the work is and not floating around somewhere in time and space.</div>
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I have seen most workers wait for their coffee breaks, smoking breaks – my experience has been that SK practitioners need fewer breaks and are able to stretch themselves effortlessly.</div>
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Needless to say, for the last many years I have not missed my daily practice wherever in the world I am – it is as integrated into the daily routine as brushing my teeth or having a bath. If I cannot miss these, how can I miss the daily practice?</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Analysis is good; Over-analysis can lead to paralysis in action</i></b></div>
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If there are so many benefits that the technique brings to you, what are the hurdles to learning and practicing it? I believe that the biggest hurdle is the mind. There are so many patterns that get built up over years and decades of our existence (exclude your previous lives for the time being). We get conditioned to think and behave in a particular manner and start believing that this is the only way to achieve the goals.</div>
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There are a lot of management books that deal with this topic – like ‘<i>Who moved my cheese</i>’, ‘<i>What got you here Won't get you there</i>’ and others. It takes a very strong mind to understand this and come out of it. This is where we fall into a Catch-22 situation of trying to free the mind using a patterned mind itself. Many times, we hire executive coaches; learn different techniques to help us break out of patterns and achieve our goals.</div>
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The underlying premise of Sudarshan Kriya is to provide a controllable breathing technique that indirectly addresses the mind. It is like hitting the branch to get the fruit – if you hit the fruit directly, it will be spoilt. There is a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4S_4jX0ERA" target="_blank">good video</a> referenced here that explain this very well.</div>
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People of my age come from the pre-dotcom era. There was no internet or social networks that helped us with information when needed. We relied on the wise men, elders around us – people who had seen the world. Of course, it had its own limitations when it came to emerging trends and technologies. </div>
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The last 15-20 years have seen the emergence of internet and social networks that gives us instant access to all the information we need. One of the drawbacks, however, is that we start relying completely on this information without completely being aware of the person’s credentials providing that information. Sometimes, the amount of information that we have at our fingertips, leads to over-analysis and paralysis in action. There is so much time spent in analyzing pros and cons, which technique should I choose, what are others saying, am I on the right track, comparing with others, etc... My experience has been that it does more harm than benefit us in this matter.</div>
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The idea is to relax the mind and bring back the focus. This overdose of information can actually be counterproductive and you may end up saying – Forget it! I am OK the way I am now!!!</div>
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When it comes to the mind or health, there is a universal movement that is emerging to go natural, to go to the basics. Our Vedic scriptures hold a treasure of knowledge and a technique like Sudarshan Kriya is best suited to provide us with much needed mental peace – like a shadow in the desert sun, spring for the thirsty mind.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Why does it work?</i></b></div>
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There has been a lot of research in the recent years to identify why and how Sudarshan Kriya works. You can read one such <a href="http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/Harvard_Mental_Health_Letter/2009/April/Yoga-for-anxiety-and-depression" target="_blank">Harvard report </a>here.</div>
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In my early years of practice, I read many articles and doctors’ reports on benefits of SK and its effects on the brain, nervous system, etc... At some point, all the research seemed futile other than trying to convince the intellect. Nothing beats your first-hand experience. </div>
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There is so much research that gets done on food and trying to isolate the components that have different impact on the body. Most often further studies contradict it and eventually find that the mix of all components that nature has provided is the right mix to have it in.</div>
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There is a recent example that comes to my memory – a study further established the benefits of using turmeric (haldi - a common ingredient in Indian cooking). We could spend lot of effort to isolate the exact compound inside and make tablets out of it or just focus on cultivating turmeric and promote cooking with it. For advancement of science and scientific enquiry, it is good to do the research to establish the benefits. In my view, it stops there – there is no point fiddling too much with nature.</div>
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So, while it is good for the scientific enquiry to keep finding out why SK works, I would say – just loosen up, practice it and enjoy the benefits<span style="font-family: Wingdings;"> :-<i>)</i></span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Verdana; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Verdana; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"></span></span></div>
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SK has helped me in many ways and continues to act as a strong catalyst in this journey of life – helping learn and transform into a better person.<br />
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Have all my questions been answered? Enough to leave me in amazement and wonder!<br />
Have I stopped experiencing negative emotions? Aware enough to control them and let go.<br />
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Today, I wake up each day looking forward to living every moment and feeling grateful for this wonderful companion called Sudarshan Kriya! Wherever in the world I maybe, this is the link to my inner self and to the divinity in this creation.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibSaym98n1BZL8VDO2tzgmr-MJVIPAU0Bc5jYeniWbkcbg-b5bv0mc6EGHXqV_i-v5ESXZNZqgluRFc3afgGjZzocQfWx42G5jDG6JIfUAREgryCy9MgbI8ErnELzl2gCrH6MI8lPG05g/s1600/P7201787.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibSaym98n1BZL8VDO2tzgmr-MJVIPAU0Bc5jYeniWbkcbg-b5bv0mc6EGHXqV_i-v5ESXZNZqgluRFc3afgGjZzocQfWx42G5jDG6JIfUAREgryCy9MgbI8ErnELzl2gCrH6MI8lPG05g/s1600/P7201787.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<i><b>Promising future ahead</b></i><br />
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Breathing techniques and meditation are the core practices of a
spiritual path with many positive effects. Sudarshan Kriya as taught in
<a href="http://srisriravishankar.org/blog/" target="_blank">Sri Sri Ravi Shankar</a>’s Art of Living courses packs the ancient wisdom in
an easy to practice technique for today’s life style.<br />
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With so many people having learnt Sudarshan Kriya in the last 30+ years and the continued demand, I see a safe and peaceful future for all of us. I pray that all the efforts put in by the teachers and volunteers of Art of Living will make this world a better place to live.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYxBmswt7XOuRpst91Gz2yn4TGWuP4MevLciTSrtPA5tfZOIw7MhwWHeOpVpztf5RmP4tNh5fsYCrCalmeWYALcRi6NGCwVJsDZE3XPqDdF0O1zYZbxd29AY-r7ZPCdiFsc9sXeYT7IxQ/s1600/youth-girls-meditation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYxBmswt7XOuRpst91Gz2yn4TGWuP4MevLciTSrtPA5tfZOIw7MhwWHeOpVpztf5RmP4tNh5fsYCrCalmeWYALcRi6NGCwVJsDZE3XPqDdF0O1zYZbxd29AY-r7ZPCdiFsc9sXeYT7IxQ/s1600/youth-girls-meditation.jpg" height="119" width="320" /></a></div>
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Vinod Mathurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415243592969414360noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061520309253577228.post-55752423499630206842014-09-20T10:38:00.001+05:302014-11-18T13:57:59.500+05:30Living with the Master - My experiences with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">It was the year 1995, my classmate at IIT-Bombay – Ramnik Bansal – woke me up from my siesta on a Friday afternoon. He had been asking me to attend a course to learn some breathing techniques for a year. Priding on my scientific/ analytical background, I did not find it an interesting proposition. But, that afternoon in March was something different – I still do not know why I agreed to go with him to the <a href="http://www.artofliving.org/">Art of Living</a> course.<br />
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The intense experience of the Sudarshan Kriya and the calmness after that was something beyond my comprehension. It was an instant liking – as if I was waiting for it in my life.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKSL5xNo4SWzLAzuwxYY8ujZHzSF1OZGqmbWnoJ-aDVvqB3Sob4NcxT6J_WeKqbNVgyFnd-kwIaPSuvAtV9yVXppKtZYQgo66RGC7KIGvZmyKNjnfL-Xhv6V5nRolod2u6omZppoTf99c/s1600/guruji-old+one.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKSL5xNo4SWzLAzuwxYY8ujZHzSF1OZGqmbWnoJ-aDVvqB3Sob4NcxT6J_WeKqbNVgyFnd-kwIaPSuvAtV9yVXppKtZYQgo66RGC7KIGvZmyKNjnfL-Xhv6V5nRolod2u6omZppoTf99c/s400/guruji-old+one.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510521582519514258" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 329px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 391px;" /></a><br />
Couple of months later, Bawa (the instructor) told us that the founder of the Art of Living courses – <a href="http://www.srisri.org/">Sri Sri Ravi Shankar</a> – was visiting Bombay and that we could meet him at the evening satsang. There was a heavy downpour that day – I remember carrying my shoes in the hands, wading through knee deep water in Juhu, walking towards this temple. I reached there to find around 150-200 people in a hall, mostly dressed in white. I had only seen a small postcard size photo of Sri Sri once till then. I was looking around for him. A few minutes later, when he walked into the hall, I knew it was him.<br />
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It was an amazing state of mind. After some singing, we were allowed to meet him one-by-one and greet him. After greeting him, he gave me a hug – and it was like getting exposed an enormous energy field. The energy blast was as intense as the Sudarshan Kriya – I had to sit down immediately and it was instant meditation for 10-15 minutes.<br />
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That was the defining moment for me – all I knew was that I am not letting him go :-)<br />
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(Contd… In the next part, he will not let me go:-))<br />
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<i><b>Part - 2</b></i><br />
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I still remember my first experience with <a href="http://www.srisriravishankar.org/">Sri Sri Ravi Shankar</a>. The intensity of experience continued and life changed course. It was like the train that took a small shift on the tracks and life changed forever. There was no way I was getting back on the old one… I was not the one who liked rushing into things – however, things did start changing quite fast.<br />
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I remember one of the initial benefits I got was getting through my CAT exams into IIM-A. I experimented with the time gap that should be between the Kriya/ meditation and starting to write the exams. It is like giving your mind deep rest and it would take a little while to accelerate and zoom… The improved intuition and faster processing of information were benefits that just came along. I was very impressed that how a breathing technique can make so much of a difference.<br />
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Over a period of time, I got to meet Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (Guruji) multiple times. We conducted many courses on campus with Bawa in the two years that I spent at IIM-A. It was towards the end of my stay, I had an experience of the most powerful life changing moments – a direct glimpse into the spiritual knowledge that is infinite.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs7aEm-yCKQgEFw9FH0VdgWAdQlgFchZK69zhQ34QEN0d3kxpDTnG1JFg_0LI06aktPzNfiB4Kg7xXQ4dllVQOYXGyh6bs4rPpuh5-vSq80iXgt7tjT_osASksMM1ZB196-5-mzu81GeI/s1600/iima-Louis_Kahn_Plaza.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs7aEm-yCKQgEFw9FH0VdgWAdQlgFchZK69zhQ34QEN0d3kxpDTnG1JFg_0LI06aktPzNfiB4Kg7xXQ4dllVQOYXGyh6bs4rPpuh5-vSq80iXgt7tjT_osASksMM1ZB196-5-mzu81GeI/s400/iima-Louis_Kahn_Plaza.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601739438437441842" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 224px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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The time was the placement week in 1998. Having specialized in Finance and Operations Management, I had naturally applied to many financial institutions. I had a good resume (grades and other achievements) – but I did not even get shortlisted for many of the jobs based out of Mumbai (the financial capital of India). The others where I got an interview were a disaster – not because I was not prepared. During these interviews, I experienced the delinking of the words coming out of my mouth and what I was thinking/ wanting to talk. I was sitting there, listening to myself speak some irrelevant things.<br />
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I was quite surprised at how this could happen. I am fully there, wanting to say something and something else coming out of my mouth and I am not able to stop that.<br />
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Then on the 3rd day, came this company – recruiting for the first time in India and only from IIM-A. Job location: USA – A side note, some openings in Bangalore. Something got into my mind – made 2 copies of the resume and posted it for both these openings. Finished one round of the US interview and before the second one, the Bangalore guys called me in and in 2 minutes flat, I had a job offer on hand. I was not keen on the role that was offered in Bangalore. The recruiters were more than happy to put me into consulting and the whole process lasted less than 10 minutes. All my other friends got into the same role in US and I was destined to move to Bangalore!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjufC2Y3WSxm8b95xgtJYT8CRcUdRbAAUT4kx91iuCQVM_FpfhBYPycRwIgGWLUXHkP3ss_0g-vT8DLRx57NLuRGT37MUDuoPc6qjOkVhHwWJNifMDItkWSn4_Ls9YtSuizsdiov0mrDqM/s1600/sri-sri-bangalore.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjufC2Y3WSxm8b95xgtJYT8CRcUdRbAAUT4kx91iuCQVM_FpfhBYPycRwIgGWLUXHkP3ss_0g-vT8DLRx57NLuRGT37MUDuoPc6qjOkVhHwWJNifMDItkWSn4_Ls9YtSuizsdiov0mrDqM/s400/sri-sri-bangalore.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601738306558187874" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 322px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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I moved to Bangalore in the summer of 1998 – did my Art of Living Teachers Training program and joined this new job. It did not take much time after that for me to realize what I was blessed with! Being in Bangalore comes with so many benefits – I am sure all of us know. This was the time when some days there would be less than 50 devotees for satsangs in ashram with Guruji and big satsangs would have 200. The walks, the drives, the flights – it was an amazing time.<br />
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I realized there was not much in my control – so there is no question of me not letting Him go. I was sure that He will not let me go anywhere… and it is better this way :-)</div><br />
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<b>Part - 3<i></i></b><br />
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkVU6U9MYC8Qn27FGR8HguPc-dgnqtlHFNi2lwqU9coT4a7RkgOqHImYIlqnYiSNIQgOAcgpWyb6c439w9llonDwbaSSKKt5hs0ouzgh-XgOe-LK1b2E7t5dl2jmf2JHy5oEkp8gkzd_c/s1600-h/sri-sri-home-page.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkVU6U9MYC8Qn27FGR8HguPc-dgnqtlHFNi2lwqU9coT4a7RkgOqHImYIlqnYiSNIQgOAcgpWyb6c439w9llonDwbaSSKKt5hs0ouzgh-XgOe-LK1b2E7t5dl2jmf2JHy5oEkp8gkzd_c/s320/sri-sri-home-page.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5243279134569679522" border="0" /></a><br />
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12;">From the head to the heart</span></b><span style="font-size:12;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="">I could have never imagined that life can change so much. And, the best part of this journey has been that there were no turning points - it was a gentle curve under the loving guidance of Guruji. Having done my education from the premier institutes in India</st1:place></st1:country-region>, I was a bit intellectual. I was not ready to accept the existence of the Divine. Yet, the irony was that I used to do all the chanting in the pujas at my home. I was looking for something more - link that could put all my understanding together. And, then I met the Divine itself.<br />
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguAvWKqv8e36wd0eDNSNFxhBWqV5gl3hKT29AhQBBb4mh1tfwofoq3pGZTewyShIM04Y04KZXOAhnzBiDkEMZuBYeKWpr97E-gib3vFdtFvCKsbCP0Wx1dnLORldwA3K14mHbItWmjwbs/s1600-h/sri-sri-puja.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguAvWKqv8e36wd0eDNSNFxhBWqV5gl3hKT29AhQBBb4mh1tfwofoq3pGZTewyShIM04Y04KZXOAhnzBiDkEMZuBYeKWpr97E-gib3vFdtFvCKsbCP0Wx1dnLORldwA3K14mHbItWmjwbs/s320/sri-sri-puja.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5243279558175927698" border="0" /></a><br />
I remember fighting against torrential rains and wading through knee-deep water on my way to the temple where Guruji was to come. That was my first meeting with Him and there was something that just pulled me towards Him. I can still feel the vibrations in my body when I first hugged Him that evening. After that there has been no looking back.<br />
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I continued on my intellectual quest of understanding the scriptures and meanings behind it for quite some time. By Guruji's grace I used to get good insights into my questions during my sadhana. Then one day, a realization dawned upon me - "You may know everything in this world - So what? You may know the entire secret of this creation - So what? Till there is no love, no devotion in your heart, till you do not share this joy and happiness with others - it is of no use!" That was the actual beginning of my journey - from the head to the heart.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12;">Always be with me</span></b><span style="font-size:12;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="">On a flight to Ahmedabad, I was seated next to Guruji. I asked him if there was something that I need to do. He said, "Just be with me, always." It was like receiving a blessing in the form of a command. He is always there for all of us. By keeping our focus, it reduces the overtime He has to do.<br />
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A couple of months later, when He was leaving <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Bangalore</st1:place></st1:city>, I asked Him when we would meet next. He paused for a moment and said, "Come with me to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Paris</st1:place></st1:city> and German ashram. You anyway have work in at your German office". I replied that I would surely come, but I did not know of any work at my office. He started talking about something else and in the afternoon, He again asked me, "So, Vinod, what do you say - the Paris and <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region> plan is good, isn't it?" I was more puzzled than ever. My confusion increased when He again reminded me about it in the evening.<br />
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I found out if there was some work at <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region> - there was none. But, I was I was mentally prepared for anything now. Two days before Guruji was to leave, I got a call from my manager that I had to go to <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region> immediately - And I could be there with Guruji! When I told Guruji about this, He pretended as if He did not know anything - He's got the style!<br />
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And, I must admit, He has done this many times after that!!! - rather, I became aware of it only after this incident.</span><span style=""> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br />
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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqCzhCIgRzhgH93jRE7WsWFPr91jo6l1zrY-UcaQR4bOr-k_Kttj-BRMpv-WgPjHeZIcr1E0b9zTM77a193O1qKhMFSzUv47JReLQj-JR3-nx6VlSf8RYqgVqKeOcZsLZF6SVlmJ81FPU/s1600-h/sri-sri-bangalore.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqCzhCIgRzhgH93jRE7WsWFPr91jo6l1zrY-UcaQR4bOr-k_Kttj-BRMpv-WgPjHeZIcr1E0b9zTM77a193O1qKhMFSzUv47JReLQj-JR3-nx6VlSf8RYqgVqKeOcZsLZF6SVlmJ81FPU/s320/sri-sri-bangalore.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5243281215449959602" /></a><br />
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12;">You are the best</span></b><span style="font-size:12;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="">What would you say when Guruji asks you, "Can you pack these bags? Do you know how to do it?" I said, "Yes, I can do it. I know it a little bit" - wanting to be a bit modest. And then, there was a stern voice, "What do you mean little bit. Say you know it the best. No one can do it better than you. Stop this, something, little bit..." It was a lesson well learnt. That single incident has put in so much of confidence and fearlessness in me. It is amazing how Guruji transforms you with each sentence He says.</span><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12;">Doing things 100%<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="">I had this wish that He should scold me in a satsang - a crazy wish maybe. But, He is there to fulfill even that. One evening, He asked me to type out the knowledge sheet. I just typed out the content and did not bother to get the continuous flow into it. I thought it would be edited later. And, to my surprise, He asked me to read it in the satsang. I did - and got nicely reprimanded for doing such a shoddy job, for not being 100%.</span><span style=""> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="">It really takes a Master like Sri Sri to make sure that each and every one devotee is able to totally integrate the knowledge in his/ her life.<o:p></o:p></span></p><br />
Vinod Mathurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415243592969414360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061520309253577228.post-60692949334289491742014-09-08T12:05:00.000+05:302014-10-06T23:14:35.900+05:30De-mystifying Mathematics (Part 6) – flexibility of the placeholder system in subtraction<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">De-mystifying Mathematics (Part 6) – flexibility of the placeholder system in subtraction</b></div>
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Now that we understand the placeholder system and its uses, let us ask an out of the box question – can I put a negative digit in a place?</div>
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Let us see what it would mean. For ease of representation, we can put the ‘–‘ sign on top on the number. Let us take an example of a number as </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Q73QNFps9k7dpvlkzwkrJpsFj_BXUQv3s8cPzLTlAfCdHN0pQ0IkNDBvjRJSXYFtvT4jIbf-pjPFjXr030uUmItDCeObNCacCI36vvcAjaKk2iEI3uw42vngivB6aZ9M0ssEHzbkWCM/s1600/negatives-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Q73QNFps9k7dpvlkzwkrJpsFj_BXUQv3s8cPzLTlAfCdHN0pQ0IkNDBvjRJSXYFtvT4jIbf-pjPFjXr030uUmItDCeObNCacCI36vvcAjaKk2iEI3uw42vngivB6aZ9M0ssEHzbkWCM/s1600/negatives-1.jpg" /></a></div>
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What this number implies is that it has 1 hundreds, 2 tens and 2 ones-short. To convert this into a regular number, we can transfer 1 tens out of 2 and give it to the ones to cover for this shortage. If you go through the above mentioned steps, you will find that this number can be represented as 118!</div>
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You can try these examples – the answers are posted at the end of the post.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg8oflW4El87mjZyuGlFJoKcgWLcg7oZZbi_shcP_TozMXma_k9ZmkDvmw0P0J16DShIRoVFyabkmOpBqbwEfD-hDrv7fNzK4eSJ9rM5yi4GZM-WdXTnoUBawVXnlrY-B-CXM_6uO9OhQ/s1600/negatives-1b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg8oflW4El87mjZyuGlFJoKcgWLcg7oZZbi_shcP_TozMXma_k9ZmkDvmw0P0J16DShIRoVFyabkmOpBqbwEfD-hDrv7fNzK4eSJ9rM5yi4GZM-WdXTnoUBawVXnlrY-B-CXM_6uO9OhQ/s1600/negatives-1b.jpg" /></a> </div>
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So, if you have got the above answers, you would notice that you can convert your subtractions into this representation and translate that into a final answer at the end. Let us take a subtraction example to see how this works:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcXMw1yGGTDe3AmYRQl-f83ZD3i26P1koQiid_FO9wrc1T8gZVV2mSvploBG_0p-esopEmkOQ97-9f8RCNX8n0bOAJNhBUqLSvjKqNM2foh5_sbpWl54hyphenhyphen4DG6PlA8KNxWsQAGNSde6y8/s1600/negatives-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcXMw1yGGTDe3AmYRQl-f83ZD3i26P1koQiid_FO9wrc1T8gZVV2mSvploBG_0p-esopEmkOQ97-9f8RCNX8n0bOAJNhBUqLSvjKqNM2foh5_sbpWl54hyphenhyphen4DG6PlA8KNxWsQAGNSde6y8/s1600/negatives-2.jpg" /></a></div>
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The interesting thing to note is that instead of using a carryover method and converting 5 (tens) to 15 (tens) and subtracting 7 from it, you need to subtract 7 from 5 = (-2) or ‘2 short’ and then adjust from 10 that you get from hundreds making it (10-2 = 8). Effectively all your subtractions are between numbers up to 10!</div>
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This will need some practice. Once you figure it out, you will find that it speeds up your mental calculations. And needless to say, this <u>does not impose you to start from the right or left</u>. You can do each column independently and remove the negatives in any order!<br />
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Let us try one more before you go.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxQo7iW1aRtaY2nq_1SYt206W9NfhQETdbMDiOlG_rHiip_rc83zQ5aoyCuWU_rHty1RFm5wC5P3ZOMGre5DyY-02Juf9fdkOhta1E00y6HeXXpVc67LADuUsttVsksEHfSW2vl95xoGA/s1600/negatives-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxQo7iW1aRtaY2nq_1SYt206W9NfhQETdbMDiOlG_rHiip_rc83zQ5aoyCuWU_rHty1RFm5wC5P3ZOMGre5DyY-02Juf9fdkOhta1E00y6HeXXpVc67LADuUsttVsksEHfSW2vl95xoGA/s1600/negatives-3.jpg" /></a></div>
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Answers to the earlier questions:</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWlZ3aNaPX_qIdfgVCBrQ61P92ArWw0SqpYWcx-UjG3Z8O0IvpEoT7PIPRPr1rhoH4vScUJyOw4aCtDHJEA_j9-qDK8tADCYG_8YNYM5yAPnDdPrUxkJ-xQRw1o67tP3bnzPup89JBbFc/s1600/negatives-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWlZ3aNaPX_qIdfgVCBrQ61P92ArWw0SqpYWcx-UjG3Z8O0IvpEoT7PIPRPr1rhoH4vScUJyOw4aCtDHJEA_j9-qDK8tADCYG_8YNYM5yAPnDdPrUxkJ-xQRw1o67tP3bnzPup89JBbFc/s1600/negatives-4.jpg" /></a><br />
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Enjoy till the next one – where we will merge negatives and multiplications <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">:-) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><a href="http://vinodmathur.blogspot.in/2014/10/de-mystifying-mathematics-part-7.html" target="_blank">Read the next part here</a> </span></div>
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<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-ZOn0HPRNrVk%2FVA1LN3LrHuI%2FAAAAAAAABMg%2Fl4yxHOkdZlg%2Fs1600%2Fnegatives-1a.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiV6piWoOUezf-YqiFWe2uPLoKW6IkvRBKdhzS3XiCUs2aMcMV9ebN_7GmAHBRT4W7cnsxHboUeaGC4LWxd030eSUYhveLd27sxFCVd-0jshy-xwOoniHTNER0rEdb8YA8cv3RGScDAjQ/s1600/negatives-1a.jpg" -->Vinod Mathurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415243592969414360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061520309253577228.post-39054590340411274172014-06-25T19:55:00.002+05:302014-06-25T19:55:58.528+05:30De-mystifying Mathematics (Part 5) – using the flexibility of the placeholder system in multiplication<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
We usually follow one method for all multiplication problems we need to solve. I still remember struggling with understanding the zeros/ “+” sign that I had to put at the end of each new line. It was done as a matter of process without appreciating what we were doing. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTgFBnv94eNStwRaDRriLhZyGu2Yw7qTAKkxeJQmw_Vgt2A02NFxJcUAFDmRwLaxDn2MGTZD6kvaV1LiaNncrSktWfzDeA8Yk6uNal99qKRfGft2-b4tzyRR5kJ6Jgtti9lLAdZHbZZVM/s1600/Multiplication-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTgFBnv94eNStwRaDRriLhZyGu2Yw7qTAKkxeJQmw_Vgt2A02NFxJcUAFDmRwLaxDn2MGTZD6kvaV1LiaNncrSktWfzDeA8Yk6uNal99qKRfGft2-b4tzyRR5kJ6Jgtti9lLAdZHbZZVM/s1600/Multiplication-1.jpg" /></a></div>
If I have to redo this now, I would think of it differently. Ones multiplied by Ones would give me the Ones in the answer. Tens by Tens would give me the Hundreds in the answer and the Tens by Ones will give me the Tens.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVK0j2Ewd1g5OhQ2UYl97KApePlnzVUPJUadrhd4Ns8hVfxv2We0a72AeV5AAxsLhq91gDE7avXpfTHhs3DvShh1ahOPgoWcfzs_iR17MU_VqoTCJRmZIdifG05bg0uq8_TK2FTgiKGBc/s1600/Multiplication-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVK0j2Ewd1g5OhQ2UYl97KApePlnzVUPJUadrhd4Ns8hVfxv2We0a72AeV5AAxsLhq91gDE7avXpfTHhs3DvShh1ahOPgoWcfzs_iR17MU_VqoTCJRmZIdifG05bg0uq8_TK2FTgiKGBc/s1600/Multiplication-2.jpg" /></a></div>
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The answer in this case is technically 2 Hundreds 17 Tens and 8 ones that translates into 378 in our accepted notation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This can easily be expanded to larger numbers are illustrated below:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL_PRbIMi6nrTkkPGwG_12zGZNTozmsMwsmMPvpXMl4gzwTTfg5laySNrtWF1RcKy_4xQwunGZnC4OlFuRAHNFewNrCaDfdDHy6TndoMkfgNUTr4mjDYherPmqyfq_9fgVly4OqqPMmuA/s1600/Multiplication-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL_PRbIMi6nrTkkPGwG_12zGZNTozmsMwsmMPvpXMl4gzwTTfg5laySNrtWF1RcKy_4xQwunGZnC4OlFuRAHNFewNrCaDfdDHy6TndoMkfgNUTr4mjDYherPmqyfq_9fgVly4OqqPMmuA/s1600/Multiplication-3.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The beauty of this approach is that each single digit multiplication is treated as an independent calculation and the answer put in the right column.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All the smaller answers are then added in the last step to get the final number. You do not need to start from right or left – you just have to <u>make sure all combinations are multiplied</u>!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In fact, if you have built a multiplication module using electronic chips in computer programming, this is exactly what you would have done.<span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Verdana; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Verdana; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, enjoy this while I come back with subtraction and handling negative numbers in the next post.</div>
<br /></div>
Vinod Mathurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415243592969414360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061520309253577228.post-60777400863929271862012-11-19T10:43:00.001+05:302012-11-19T10:44:29.485+05:30De-mystifying Mathematics (Part 4) – 21 hundred vs. 2 thousand 1 hundred – the flexibility of the placeholder system!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We discussed the ease of representing numbers using a
placeholder system and ten symbols (including ‘0’). Having understood the
fundamentals, let us look at the flexibility this system offers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">As an example, if you had to find the next number in the
following series –</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Seven
thousand seven hundred seventy seven</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Eight
thousand eight hundred eighty eight</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nine
thousand nine hundred ninety nine</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">???</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">A majority of people, to whom I have asked this question,
have struggled with this. If we convert the above series into a numerical
representation: </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJVRzupLxURMKa9C3pYdcg_PdNt-Nb78DfTBuNju_UKRynylsj0nmVqYAw41AybjUBxewCQOWdRhB5tumBReYaTqBw2lhhGFa6eT0A21wn6abSAVIToQ52CPeZtWKA0x0aHp8rU9-ZL7M/s1600/7777.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJVRzupLxURMKa9C3pYdcg_PdNt-Nb78DfTBuNju_UKRynylsj0nmVqYAw41AybjUBxewCQOWdRhB5tumBReYaTqBw2lhhGFa6eT0A21wn6abSAVIToQ52CPeZtWKA0x0aHp8rU9-ZL7M/s320/7777.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The next number in the series is ‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ten thousand ten hundred ten tens and ten</i>’. What if we leave the
number as it is and write it as 10|10|10|10? It may create some confusion among
readers and may take away the simplicity of the representation that we started
off with. However, there is still some benefit of this <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">multi-digit placeholder
representation</i></b> – it gives us a different way of representing large numbers
during intermediate calculation steps before bringing it to a generally
accepted nomenclature.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">In the above example, it is easy to write down the next
number in the series as 10|10|10|10 and then derive the answer:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">10 ones <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>= 1 tens and 0 ones</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">10 tens <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>= 1 hundreds, 0 tens and 0 ones</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">10 hundreds <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>= 1 thousand, 0 hundreds, 0 tens and 0 ones</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">10 thousands <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>= 1 ten thousand, 0 thousands, 0 hundreds, 0
tens and 0 ones</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">What we have ended up doing is ‘carrying over’ the
additional digits into the next placeholder. So, the number in the generally
accepted representation is ‘<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">11110’</b> –
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">eleven thousand one hundred ten</i>! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">When the concept of ‘carrying over’ is taught, it seems like
a sin to leave two digits in one placeholder at any point in the calculation
steps. If you understand the basics and how to deal with the ‘placeholders
within placeholders’, then you <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">do not feel
afraid to take this liberty</b>…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So, feel free to explore different ways of writing a number
– at least in the calculation steps. Let us see how this can help us in basic
calculations.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-no-proof: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Kpo8NXgAxdf1GFfnyuo5hndbF6IA4t8m25jv9ocx28h8ZfIMpq37O1TUd9lrDdDuu9QrFQPUx1cxzt7adp7of_ov9_xKOeYiaPl3dibF4VqqjT_i5zpxGvpzGzQVJAzxs78XMdL4U18/s1600/carryover.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Kpo8NXgAxdf1GFfnyuo5hndbF6IA4t8m25jv9ocx28h8ZfIMpq37O1TUd9lrDdDuu9QrFQPUx1cxzt7adp7of_ov9_xKOeYiaPl3dibF4VqqjT_i5zpxGvpzGzQVJAzxs78XMdL4U18/s320/carryover.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The advantage of this being that there is no restriction on
where I start from (left to right, right to left or each one individually).
This is possible as the ‘carry over’ adjustment/ cleaning up are done in the
second step.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We will take a look at using this flexibility for
multiplication in the next post…</span></div>
</div>
Vinod Mathurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415243592969414360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061520309253577228.post-35123075659427606462012-11-12T13:41:00.001+05:302012-11-12T13:46:33.373+05:30De-mystifying Mathematics (Part 3) – Concept of zero<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We discussed in the <a href="http://vinodmathur.blogspot.in/2012/11/de-mystifying-mathematics-part-2-indias.html">previous post</a> on the need to create a
representation for non-existent values in the placeholder system of writing
numbers. Using blank spaces may make it ambiguous as blanks are also used for
separating words and numbers. We can create another symbol for this – so what
is the big deal? Let us say we represented it by ‘0’ and called it ‘nothing’.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The problem arises in the definition of this symbol and its
value. As we are talking about counting as the basic need, what does nothing
mean? All other symbols 1 to 9 are countable. You understand what 1 apple means
or 7 chairs mean. But what does nothing mean? Is ‘no apples’ the same as ‘no
chairs’?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">If you had just one apple on the table and took that away – you
would be left with ‘no apples’. You will also be left with ‘no oranges’ or ‘no
plates’. How do I deal with this symbol in basic calculations?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">These are the types of questions that plagued mathematicians
in Middle East and Western world even as late as 10<sup>th</sup> century. The more
you think of it as a mystic symbol, the more confusing it may get. The Indian
cultures had already embraced the concept of nothingness and it was an integral
aspect of the spiritual traditions. ‘Shunya’ (the nothingness) and ‘Anant’ (the
infinite) were easily understood and talked about in this part of the world.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The earliest <u>documented</u> references to this numerical
symbol go back to around 5<sup>th</sup> century AD. This was the time when not only
the numerical representations, but also the rules governing the usage and
calculations came into existence. Rules explaining addition, subtraction,
multiplication with zero were laid down and understood. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We are not sure if these existed before that time as there is
no documentary evidence available so far. Even after this advancement, it took
a few hundred years before the rest of the world understood and accepted this
notation. The journey from ‘Shunya’ to ‘Sifr’ to ‘Zephyr’/ ‘Cipher’ to ‘Zero’ was
a long one across continents and centuries…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0l1K3Uph5JvVEWpcUXPhRg24zlggnQ4kUh6Q5sFqMqQjYtRiWCVgDoPlUzp6XCJOtWICk8wb6K4O60zMBN2gAvnBhJ9lIyIlyeSkPbCVmZf0IBrFxOZVvggGP-LQ1K1TqMZCpt2PF9io/s1600/shunya+to+zero.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0l1K3Uph5JvVEWpcUXPhRg24zlggnQ4kUh6Q5sFqMqQjYtRiWCVgDoPlUzp6XCJOtWICk8wb6K4O60zMBN2gAvnBhJ9lIyIlyeSkPbCVmZf0IBrFxOZVvggGP-LQ1K1TqMZCpt2PF9io/s640/shunya+to+zero.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Many great mathematicians and physicists have commented on
this in the past. One of the best descriptions is by the French mathematician
Pierre Simon Laplace who wrote:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">“It is India that gave us the ingenious method of expressing
all numbers by the means of ten symbols, each symbol receiving a value of
position, as well as an absolute value; a profound and important idea which
appears so simple to us now that we ignore its true merit, but its very
simplicity, the great ease which it has lent to all computations, puts our
arithmetic in the first rank of useful inventions, and we shall appreciate the
grandeur of this achievement when we remember that it escaped the genius of
Archimedes and Apollonius, two of the greatest minds produced by antiquity.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">To be able to fully appreciate the contribution of ‘Zero’ in
today’s context, imagine writing numbers without the zero and placeholder
system. Imagine no binary system and hence no electronics, no computer, no TV,
no mobiles! On a lighter note, this is the mathematical representation of the
spiritual truth – everything has come from nothingness <span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">:-)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
Vinod Mathurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415243592969414360noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061520309253577228.post-5135007395105857142012-11-02T13:48:00.001+05:302012-11-02T13:48:28.665+05:30De-mystifying Mathematics (Part 2) – India’s contribution of zero to the number system<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We discussed in the <a href="http://vinodmathur.blogspot.in/2012/10/de-mystifying-mathematics-part-1.html">earlier post</a> that mathematics can be
thought as a collection of many logical/ numerical concepts and processes that
make the base for applied sciences and arts. We will touch upon the various
concepts in this series – may not be in the linear flow of typical text books.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">One of the first uses of mathematics that we learn and
encounter is numbers – for counting and basic arithmetic. We usually start
associating a written representation with a number as soon as we start learning
them. In my opinion, this association itself causes limitations in later stages
of learning and restricts innovation and creativity!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Let us look into this in more detail. If I say the number
‘Twelve’ – we immediately think of the representation ‘12’. What if I had a
symbol for twelve – say ‘µ’? I could continue to create<b> symbols for each number</b>. We have all played code games in our
childhood. Real counting is also like that – a bit more evolved and widely
accepted. Can we continue to create a symbol for each number we know? Where
should I stop creating new symbols and try to reuse – at 9, at 16, at 20 or 60?</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSG1dmH9eOtiiU9fTQ5igfiAlERLg-Gv0mp4EQ6ct9YovUOgeJN81tFAZ3KyTsIeuDCQZb8UfbfixgpAZg6taolq19FLgHaWDuRFG9-LiFHMGnzWwBW5nosUdz3TvrE3B8NaLPZpH7hzQ/s1600/cavemen_mathematics_250359.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSG1dmH9eOtiiU9fTQ5igfiAlERLg-Gv0mp4EQ6ct9YovUOgeJN81tFAZ3KyTsIeuDCQZb8UfbfixgpAZg6taolq19FLgHaWDuRFG9-LiFHMGnzWwBW5nosUdz3TvrE3B8NaLPZpH7hzQ/s400/cavemen_mathematics_250359.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">What about other ways of writing the number - <b>Tally marks</b> or <b>Roman numerals</b>? Tally marks were the most primitive representations
- they resembled counting on the five fingers on a hand. Roman numerals are
representations with a combination of alphabets.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_MDzSLedqDGiK0kDM1vJCQvte9KIugrAbXJBMRZHp-woiruCTNt278mJsa158sLph1TFYIX4UqbWzhMGnvs1vv2nJop4AHtWploZGhQm8ZEGu5tj-gypPN-le6_SRqF2voOIuG-Ycuq4/s1600/maths+-+tally+and+roman.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_MDzSLedqDGiK0kDM1vJCQvte9KIugrAbXJBMRZHp-woiruCTNt278mJsa158sLph1TFYIX4UqbWzhMGnvs1vv2nJop4AHtWploZGhQm8ZEGu5tj-gypPN-le6_SRqF2voOIuG-Ycuq4/s400/maths+-+tally+and+roman.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Tally marks and Roman representations have a problem of
scalability and processing. It becomes extremely hard to write down large
numbers and perform arithmetic operations on them. As the system evolves, one
would be forced to move to an advanced representation system with <b>placeholders</b> and <b>repeating symbols </b>(like the units, tens, hundreds, etc... in our
commonly used decimal system).</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The placeholders give importance or weight to the value digit.
The placeholder itself can be any value – 2, 8, 10, 16, 60, etc… For example,
if the placeholder is SIXTY, then the first symbol would represent the number
itself, the second symbol would represent SIXTY times the symbol value and so on. Though
this looked like an elegant system, the problem it posed is handling blanks! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For example, if I have to represent sixty in a placeholder sys<span style="font-size: small;">tem<span style="font-size: small;"> of si<span style="font-size: small;">xty</span></span></span>, then I would
have write the symbol for ‘one’ and then leave a blank to denote the first placeholder.
Sixty = ‘1 ’. It would be difficult to differentiate between ‘1 </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">’</span></span> and ‘1’ – except
for the context and some guesswork.</span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPfzWcMKoBNmrfQGRLFwnfVDmewRU9AiO-3jCJu1X8fplOMvMj1qHRA8KvrdTWUMuxdef3J6l7GQwqiv2XX5gXDYDeZNOvMvrRsb6nFMZaYcTPMws6BHVysgvecMo09GTM3l1dlKN18Ck/s1600/maths+-+representing+sixty.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPfzWcMKoBNmrfQGRLFwnfVDmewRU9AiO-3jCJu1X8fplOMvMj1qHRA8KvrdTWUMuxdef3J6l7GQwqiv2XX5gXDYDeZNOvMvrRsb6nFMZaYcTPMws6BHVysgvecMo09GTM3l1dlKN18Ck/s200/maths+-+representing+sixty.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The two questions that needed answers to complete the
numeral system were: <i><u>How many symbols
are enough</u></i> and what do we do with these <i><u>non-existent values or blanks</u></i>?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Providing answers to these two critical questions has been <b>India’s biggest contribution to ‘mathematics’</b>
and hence many advanced scientific inventions and discoveries.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">From the Vedic times, a lot of scriptures were already
referring to large and small numbers with a placeholder value of 10.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">One = eka; </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ten = dasha; Eleven = ekadasha (one plus ten)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Twenty = vimsatih; Twenty one = ekavimsatih (one plus
twenty)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hundred = shat; two hundred = dwi-shat</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And so on…</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The second question needed an answer to ensure written
representation was non-ambiguous. This is where ‘shunya’ or zero came into
existence! But why was it such a big deal? We will look into this in the next
post… </span></span></div>
</div>
Vinod Mathurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415243592969414360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061520309253577228.post-26816698168744912932012-10-27T19:36:00.000+05:302012-10-27T19:36:56.708+05:30De-mystifying Mathematics (Part 1) – Introduction<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Mathematics is one of the subjects that evoke a wide range of emotions among students and parents alike. Being one of my favorite subjects, I wanted to understand what is it about mathematics that causes anxious moments? Is it the concepts, the way it is taught or the natural inclination of the student? </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh69oBxPSPbnaHfIPOiMOqs1EeF3eI3RXpK5JdS08LVgiVIjonluPxY7fgFjZvgBSZ4IPP_NuOEnombH12EOi3J12Jd3cBiKw-Secuka9ddapS2gRp2uMhGQh-DFIE7Mux18y0dcL8IdnM/s1600/funny_math_cartoon1.gif.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh69oBxPSPbnaHfIPOiMOqs1EeF3eI3RXpK5JdS08LVgiVIjonluPxY7fgFjZvgBSZ4IPP_NuOEnombH12EOi3J12Jd3cBiKw-Secuka9ddapS2gRp2uMhGQh-DFIE7Mux18y0dcL8IdnM/s320/funny_math_cartoon1.gif.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This thought stayed with me for many years. In the mean time, I came across a book on <u>Vedic Mathematics</u> as described by Swami Bharti Krisna Tirthaji Maharaj. It gave a new and different perspective to basic mathematical concepts and processes. I learnt these and started teaching it as an introduction to Vedic Mathematics.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">However, the original question and others around India’s contribution to mathematics still remained. Over years of reading and exploring, I have understood mathematics more than what I had in my school days. As the case is with memory, I thought it might be a good idea to write down my thoughts and share it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">There is a lot of literature on the internet about the history of mathematics and its main contributors around the world across time that one can read.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Mathematics as a subject</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">One of the key things that I have learnt is that study of mathematics as a separate subject is not as old as the processes themselves. So, the arithmetic processes of counting, addition, multiplication are very old – but learning them under the banner of a separate subject is relatively new. Even in the Vedic classification, maths (‘Ganit’) does not appear as a veda, but is mentioned under ‘Jyotish’. This may be attributed to the astronomers who used and developed mathematical calculations extensively to determine the panchang (calendar) accurately.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The science of construction also had its basis in mathematics and developed many geometrical concepts. The hymns, music and other sciences also had a good mathematical base. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">In all, mathematics was (and is) the basis of the knowledge prevalent in the ancient times across all fields – basic counting/ accounting, ritualistic hymns, music, ceremonies, construction, astronomy, astrology, etc… The question then is – what is this basis called ‘mathematics’ that we struggle with?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">One usually thinks of mathematics as completely logical and unambiguous where 1+1=2. What I have now understood is that this is not the case – we will come to that in a separate post. As many great mathematicians have said in different words: <i><b>Mathematics is an attempt to explain the universe (prakriti)<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>around us. Though the universe is never completely explainable, there are certain rules and patterns that are found in here – and mathematics, as we understand, helps us understand these.</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">If I was told this in my school, I would have appreciated this subject much more :) I believe that if we have to continue to push the frontiers of knowledge, strong fundamentals are very necessary. Like a good chef can experiment with the ingredients to create a new dish and predict the taste and outcome, a good student of mathematics should feel confident to play around with the concepts and processes to attempt something new.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Next, we look at the basic counting and what does <i><b>India’s contribution of ‘zero’ really mean</b></i> – to be continued.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAwV8We0iH-gbOseMoGqrTVVwULtrKpXVI7o531yqDlkz_EmVbq3SjXyDrRNTwEaANFQ1p_kaedQbO0cTyDdUGZd6p32dfwL2Xn0zJm_VYUMFVO6jPjFkPJzW19lC8dkwWkkJdYgvgqlk/s1600/philosophy-vs-mathematics.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAwV8We0iH-gbOseMoGqrTVVwULtrKpXVI7o531yqDlkz_EmVbq3SjXyDrRNTwEaANFQ1p_kaedQbO0cTyDdUGZd6p32dfwL2Xn0zJm_VYUMFVO6jPjFkPJzW19lC8dkwWkkJdYgvgqlk/s320/philosophy-vs-mathematics.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Vinod Mathurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415243592969414360noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061520309253577228.post-65409543979226895802012-09-16T22:37:00.001+05:302012-09-16T22:53:13.562+05:30A different approach to increasing services margins<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It is interesting how day to day incidents can teach you fairly advanced business concepts. Recently, we got our house painted. Painting is a fairly commodity skill set and fiercely competitive. There is a generally accepted price band and the customer would ensure that they pay within the band and not a rupee/ sq ft more than that. In this kind of an industry, as a painter, how do you make more money than others? To raise the rates that you charge for the same work, you would need to really differentiate yourself from others – and that may be quite a challenge. Not to mention the same drill you have to go with, for every client.</span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">As the customer here, we were also offered special effects on some walls. We browsed through the catalogue of special effects and designs – and finally narrowed down on a couple of walls and the special effect that we need. The output looked great – but what struck me was that the additional effort spent to create the effect was only one hour for each wall! And the additional margin (net of extra material) was few thousand rupees!</span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We did not mind paying that extra amount as the output was really exceptional and the painter also made a sizeable additional margin (for the effort spent). What made this possible: New product/ offering (Royale play by Asian Paints), prepackaged combination options, standard tool kit for creating the effect and training a wider set of painters to be able to use all of these.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWq7H8yxDt7955YVuCyYeg-SYosGDHeEcJHje2B-3dprY4EHNGTn7jZgOsTuPyXjiM2tkX6OHr4p3_rVM6_KP5z6HjAys1IbsdFnjI9_B4dqkiyvB_SnWG38NipA-6-6KULIngJIAfmKY/s1600/Royale+Play+photo.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWq7H8yxDt7955YVuCyYeg-SYosGDHeEcJHje2B-3dprY4EHNGTn7jZgOsTuPyXjiM2tkX6OHr4p3_rVM6_KP5z6HjAys1IbsdFnjI9_B4dqkiyvB_SnWG38NipA-6-6KULIngJIAfmKY/s400/Royale+Play+photo.JPG" /></a></span></span></div>
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</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">My primary work area being business consulting in the SCM software domain – I started thinking if we could do something similar. Software consulting services are fairly a commodity now and the competition on hourly rates is fierce. Can we then create an offering that is unique/ enhanced and we can charge a higher amount for that? Remember, the idea is to make it scalable and justify the additional effort vs. margin benefit.</span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This would involve creation of such an offering along with a list of prepackaged configuration options. This options list is very essential as the clients may not be able to visualize the output. In our painting example, we could not have visualized the output – nor can I explain it to anyone who has not seen these catalogs/ pictures.</span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The next step would be creating tools to standardize the output and training a large set of people. This will ensure repeatability of the process and scalability. Many unique services eventually die out as they as not made scalable – they remain the proprietary of their founders and/ or few highly qualified individuals.</span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk0f-o3ipBTydd6qaz84O1Gt9gSX5EUVnX-vHXPQ01ar2e8Pl4jIn1ZzFuDXyJRbIWjsQMybuTEJ6AW4ta1Mz-L9FTaA72ovnvKFCS_JsbizQpx1OwHj3vUGqrnxj71FeUzCV1o0RQKaA/s1600/New+offering.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk0f-o3ipBTydd6qaz84O1Gt9gSX5EUVnX-vHXPQ01ar2e8Pl4jIn1ZzFuDXyJRbIWjsQMybuTEJ6AW4ta1Mz-L9FTaA72ovnvKFCS_JsbizQpx1OwHj3vUGqrnxj71FeUzCV1o0RQKaA/s400/New+offering.JPG" /></a></span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This one incident did give me some good insights into a different perspective on competing in a already crowded marketplace. Let us hope this translates into improved margins. And hope it helps you too…</span></span></div>
Vinod Mathurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415243592969414360noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061520309253577228.post-20943781121089806362011-05-01T18:52:00.004+05:302014-10-22T12:26:28.683+05:30Living with the Master – Part 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I still remember my first experience with <a href="http://www.srisriravishankar.org/">Sri Sri Ravi Shankar</a>. The intensity of experience continued and life changed course. It was like the train that took a small shift on the tracks and life changed forever. There was no way I was getting back on the old one… I was not the one who liked rushing into things – however, things did start changing quite fast.<br />
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I remember one of the initial benefits I got was getting through my CAT exams into IIM-A. I experimented with the time gap that should be between the <a href="http://srisriravishankar.org/sudarshan-kriya/" target="_blank">Sudarshan kriya technique</a> and meditation and starting to write the exams. It is like giving your <a href="http://yoga-benefits-and-more.blogspot.in/2013_04_01_archive.html" target="_blank">mind deep rest</a> and it would take a little while to accelerate and zoom… The improved intuition and faster processing of information were benefits that just came along. I was very impressed that how a breathing technique can make so much of a difference.<br />
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Over a period of time, I got to meet Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (Guruji) multiple times. We conducted many courses on campus with Bawa in the two years that I spent at IIM-A. It was towards the end of my stay, I had an experience of the most powerful life changing moments – a direct glimpse into the spiritual knowledge that is infinite.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs7aEm-yCKQgEFw9FH0VdgWAdQlgFchZK69zhQ34QEN0d3kxpDTnG1JFg_0LI06aktPzNfiB4Kg7xXQ4dllVQOYXGyh6bs4rPpuh5-vSq80iXgt7tjT_osASksMM1ZB196-5-mzu81GeI/s1600/iima-Louis_Kahn_Plaza.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs7aEm-yCKQgEFw9FH0VdgWAdQlgFchZK69zhQ34QEN0d3kxpDTnG1JFg_0LI06aktPzNfiB4Kg7xXQ4dllVQOYXGyh6bs4rPpuh5-vSq80iXgt7tjT_osASksMM1ZB196-5-mzu81GeI/s400/iima-Louis_Kahn_Plaza.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601739438437441842" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 224px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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The time was the placement week in 1998. Having specialized in Finance and Operations Management, I had naturally applied to many financial institutions. I had a good resume (grades and other achievements) – but I did not even get shortlisted for many of the jobs based out of Mumbai (the financial capital of India). The others where I got an interview were a disaster – not because I was not prepared. During these interviews, I experienced the delinking of the words coming out of my mouth and what I was thinking/ wanting to talk. I was sitting there, listening to myself speak some irrelevant things.<br />
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I was quite surprised at how this could happen. I am fully there, wanting to say something and something else coming out of my mouth and I am not able to stop that.<br />
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Then on the 3rd day, came this company – recruiting for the first time in India and only from IIM-A. Job location: USA – A side note, some openings in Bangalore. Something got into my mind – made 2 copies of the resume and posted it for both these openings. Finished one round of the US interview and before the second one, the Bangalore guys called me in and in 2 minutes flat, I had a job offer on hand. I was not keen on the role that was offered in Bangalore. The recruiters were more than happy to put me into consulting and the whole process lasted less than 10 minutes. All my other friends got into the same role in US and I was destined to move to Bangalore!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjufC2Y3WSxm8b95xgtJYT8CRcUdRbAAUT4kx91iuCQVM_FpfhBYPycRwIgGWLUXHkP3ss_0g-vT8DLRx57NLuRGT37MUDuoPc6qjOkVhHwWJNifMDItkWSn4_Ls9YtSuizsdiov0mrDqM/s1600/sri-sri-bangalore.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjufC2Y3WSxm8b95xgtJYT8CRcUdRbAAUT4kx91iuCQVM_FpfhBYPycRwIgGWLUXHkP3ss_0g-vT8DLRx57NLuRGT37MUDuoPc6qjOkVhHwWJNifMDItkWSn4_Ls9YtSuizsdiov0mrDqM/s400/sri-sri-bangalore.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601738306558187874" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 322px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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I moved to Bangalore in the summer of 1998 – did my Art of Living Teachers Training program and joined this new job. It did not take much time after that for me to realize what I was blessed with! Being in Bangalore comes with so many benefits – I am sure all of us know. This was the time when some days there would be less than 50 devotees for satsangs in ashram with Guruji and big satsangs would have 200. The walks, the drives, the flights – it was an amazing time.<br />
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I realized there was not much in my control – so there is no question of me not letting Him go. I was sure that He will not let me go anywhere… and it is better this way :-)</div>
Vinod Mathurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415243592969414360noreply@blogger.com3