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Showing posts from October, 2017

Who is Hindu? What is Hinduism? Is the Hindu Right Wing different from Communists?

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Looking at the way some extreme right Hindu groups are behaving after that BJP minister's speech on the Taj Mahal, calling it a blot on India's history, I wonder if the Indian right wing is actually right. It seems more of a fanatical nature to forget the past many years' history and fight to bring back an era 1300 years old. They are giving a whole new meaning to Hinduism. I feel confused too now. Is Hindutva different from Hinduism? Aren't they all-encompassing nature of Hindus? What are Hindus? Is Hindu a religion? If it is a religion, it should have at least one prophet or Messiah. Whom do we have? Who started Hindu dharma, if at all anyone did so? The name, Hindu, was given by rulers of the Middle East. Likewise, the West called them Indians. Hinduism never was or is a religion. Some people imposed some rules and Sanatan Dharma was born. That too, was due to people who wanted power over the masses. The guys who think the Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Qutub Mina...
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Were Mughals not Indians?

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Dunno what I will be labeled for saying this... I am not too sure how to put it but let's try. When we spend our childhood or a significant part of our life at any place, that place owns a part of us. We go live our early career years in the USA only to acquire part of its culture. A foreign student who studied at Banaras Hindu University will keep coming back for those ghats, temples, and culture. Based on the above deduction, I think it is alright if the Mughals ruled India for 800 years. Maybe Babar was an outsider, but he settled here in India, his following generations were born here and thus, are part of Indian culture. They did force people to convert and many converted. But forced conversions still happen. Besides, we love Mughal structures - Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Qutub Minar, and Mughlai cuisine - Biryani, Haleem, etc. So, what's the point of hating them? I think it's time we stopped seeing Mughals as outsiders and accept them as part of Indian culture. The...
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Pollution issue in India: Polluting the minds of innocent

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BAN CRACKERS? I didn't want to comment on that, hoping for the greater good. But when our very intellectuals make it a communal issue, one is forced to talk. Why is it that Supreme Court interferes only with Hindu festivals? In his tweet, Shashi Tharoor says goats are lesser beings and that Muharram processions hurt only themselves. Then why did Supreme Court set the dahi handi height limit? Wasn't that to stop people from getting hurt? Basically, the followers of Lord Ram are supposed to stop using water on Holi. Diwali is something a kid waits for months in advance and now he can't use fireworks and crackers because fireworks cause pollution. 1. If it is really pollution, should we install dust collectors all over Delhi? 2. What about illegal factories operating from residential colonies all over Delhi? 3. Why are old vehicles still on the roads? 4. Why can't the government use permanent remedies instead of pushing a particular community to the corner? ...
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Next Operating System from Microsoft might be completely cloud based

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Microsoft is right now racing in the cloud computing scenario. Though Satya Nadella said it would be "mobile first" for Microsoft, emphasis is clear on its cloud systems. It (Microsoft) is promoting and receiving a tremendous response for all its cloud based products, especially Office 365 & Azure. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is currently leading the cloud market with Microsoft and Google close at its heels. We had earlier observed that not only is Microsoft neglecting mobile phone market, it isn't showing much interest in Windows 10. Incidentally, Microsoft has now made it official that Windows phones won't receive any more support (budget). Probably, it is working on a cloud based operating system - OS as a service. The concept would be to boot up local devices using firmware and connect to the cloud operating system. We are already seeing a shift in Microsoft offerings - from local to cloud. Could it be that Microsoft is focussing on cloud before going ba...
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How to get motivation?

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How to get motivation? In my honest opinion, there is no such thing called motivation. All those motivational quotes and posters are BS. If your brain is good enough to be charged with a quote or two, you don't need any motivation. On the contrary, if you are a tired soul, nothing can motivate you - except circumstances. There may be motives behind every action or inaction. But thinking that going through a few quotes, watching a movie, or reading a book, will give you the necessary strength is stupidity. It's not motivation. It's the strength you already have. This strength is within everyone. Motivation is "I have to do it." If there are no other options and you have to do it, it is motivation. In other words, motivation is awakening your strength and getting down to work in either of these cases: 1. You seriously (desperately) want to do something - in which case you don't need any external motivation 2. You are left with no options; you have to d...
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Best app for Android phones - Clean Master from Cheetah Mobile

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There are many apps for Android by the name of Clean Master on the Play Store. But this post is about the best app for Android, the Clean Master from Cheetah Mobile. After five years of testing different multipurpose apps for Android maintenance, I concluded that the  Clean Master from Cheetah Mobile  is the best maintenance app. Not only general maintenance, Clean Master offers you much more than you can expect from a single app. Earlier, it felt that the "All in One for Android" was the best app out there for Android. But it turned out that the "All in One" app leaves out add-ins even after you remove the main app. Features built into the Clean Master app are available as add-ins in the All in One app for Android. The add-ins are not uninstalled when you uninstall the All in One app. I could not find a proper method to remove them as they were not visible in any App Managers. I had to do a factory reset of my phone, and that was when I acknowledged Clean Master a...
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Significance or Meaning of Swaha and Ithi in Sanskrit Mantras

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You might have noticed that all mantras begin with the sound of "OM". What you might have ignored or failed to notice is that mantras in Sanskrit end with "ithi" or "Swaha". Some of you end mantras with just a "Namah". Not to scare you, but if you fail to use "ithi" at end of each mantra or at the very end of any Stotra (hymn), the mantra & related offering (sacrifice or prasadam) doesn't reach the god being prayed. The word "ithi" marks the end of the mantra and urges gods to accept whatever you are offering. The word "swaha" is used more in homams (rituals where you put offerings/prasadam directly into the fire). Since people put offerings into the fire while saying "swaha", many of us associate it with "destruction". When anyone says "sab kuch swaha ho gaya (everything became swaha)", it does and should not be concluded that they lost things. It is a wrong notion that as...
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Analysis of Mahabharata Characters - Bhishma

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Bhishma is one of the powerful characters of the epic, Mahabharata that contains and shows a pious way of life to the mortals living on earth. I am starting this Analysis of Mahabharata Characters with Bhishma as he is the oldest character in the epic/saga and has tremendous influence on the other characters of Mahabharata. Bhishma was the son of king Shantanu and Ganga (the river Ganges in female form). Bhishma was considered one of the eight Vasus (rishis) who had to take birth on earth due to a curse. Before we analyze the character, let us take a quick look at the story of Bhishma according to the Mahabharata. Background Of Bhishma Bhismha is considered one of the eight Vasus who stole a cow named Kamadhenu from a sage. When the sage cursed them to take birth as humans, all Vasus asked for his forgiveness. The sage, for seven Vasus who helped the main Vasu to steal the cow, reduced the curse to death just after birth. However, the main Vasu who actually stole the cow was ...
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