Inspired by other blogs…

Hey folks! I intent continue my blog from this month. I intent to continue it as a blog on books I read and my views. I got my inspiration from blogs like book world. This month when I went to my favorite bookshop Landmark I was fortunate enough to got hold of hard cover edition of The Karamazov Brothers and The Dairy of Anne Frank at the discount counter. The enormous volume of The Brothers of Karamazov, nearly 900 pages, made me baffled at the thought of reading it. Any way I made a start. During my visit to Eloor Library I borrowed three books- Almost A Childhood by Hans-Georg Behr, Anton Chekhov Five Great Short Stories and V for Vendetta a novel based on The movie by same name.

Almost A Childhood by Hans-Georg Behr is based on growing up in Nazi era. Anything on World War II always fascinates me. Unfornutely This book did not stir my interest after reading few pages. I am unable to continue. So I have decided to return it .V for Vendetta is a page turner. I have almost come to the end. It is a story about an authoritarian rule in near future. The main character uses a mask. His portrayal is loosely based on Scottish historical character Guy Fawks. He chooses the same day as Guy Fawks for the execution of his terrorist act.

Anton Chekov Five Greatest Short Stories I have finished reading The Black Monk The classics always require second and third reading before you could grasp the real meaning of the story. Hence I will come to it after giving sufficient reading.

The Brothers Karamazov and The Dairy of Anne Frank is my own book. There is no need to rush. Any way I have finished reading introductory chapters in Karamazov.

Books for november

Books for November

I read three books during november- The End of Faith by Sam Harris, Running away from Safety by Richerd Bach and Don Brown's The Davinci Code. Of these Sam Harris's End of Faith is an interesting book.

After 9/11 disaster westerners have turned their attention more and more towards the cause of such diabolical behaviour. The suicide bombers with such tenacity with out any care about their lives caused such catrosopic death of innocent civilians and others in the name of religion. THe knoweledge of why it happened rather than how it happened is more useful in preventing such disasters in future. Sam Harris turned his thoughts on religion. He has rightly pointed out that almost all our problems in our world have their roots in religion. We have too many gods and too many Scriptures. Most of the people that read the sciptures believe that these were the works of Creator itself. Unfornutely those who read a particular holy book believe that those who don't read their books are not true believer of god. He has rightly observed, " Criticising a person's faith is currently taboo in every corner of our culture. On this subject, liberals and conservatives have reached a rare consenses; religious beliefs are simply beyond the scope of rational discourse. Criticising a person's ideas about god and the afterlife is thought to be impolite in a way that criticising his ideas about physics or history is not."

Freedom of belief is a myth. Scientific truths are immensly fought over the validity of its statment. Religious ideas are never put into debate. An enquiry in to true meaning of religion, be it christanity, judaism, islam, hinduism or buddihism is the need of the hour.

It is high time that we recognize our " an enemy so near to us and so deceptive, that we keep its council even as it threatened to destroy the very possiblity of human happiness. Our enemy is nothing other than faith itself." says Sam Harris.

He correctly pointed that Mysticism and religion are different. Those who tries to evalute the true meaning of consciousness is also spiritual. Spiritual experience is different from the religious experience . If one tried to look inward and interospect himself moral values would be known to him. One need not be religious. It is enough if one is spiritual to lead a moral and just life.

He ends the book as " No personal god need be worshipped for us to live in awe at the beauty and immensity of creation. No tribal fictions need be rehearsed for us to realize, one fine day, that we do, infact love our neighbour, that our happiness is inextricable from their own, and that our interdependence demands that people every where be given the oppurnuity to flourish. The days of our religious identites are clearly numbered would soon to depend, rather too much on how soon we ralize this". Human civilization, rather future of our cosmos, depend on this.

According to one critic, every one should read this; they don't. But they must.

" Sam Harris' elegent little book is most refreshing and a wonderful source of ammunition for those who, like me, hold to no religious doctorine. Yet I have some sympathy also with those who might be worried by his uncompromising stance. Read it and form your view, but do not ignore its message."

Sir Roger Penrose- emeritus professor of mathamatics at oxford.

Before the fall out

Reading historical science books has its own charm. Issac Asimov and Arthur Clarke, though they are scientists themselves, are master story tellers. Their books are highly enjoyable to read by lay men. Some years ago I read Jacob Bronowski's Ascent of man. I consider it as a master piece. In fact he has conducted a guided tour from the earliest invention of wheels to modern scientific discoveries. He has described in detail how Charles Darwin and Arthur Wallace have independently developed an evolution theory that unravel the mystery of birth of mankind in different stages and how Charles Darwin forged ahead at the winning post leaving Arthur Wallace stranded way behind. Our hearts went with unfornute Arthur Wallace. The trial of Gailieo by vatican church is also described in detail by him.

Diana Preston starts with the discovery of radium by Marie Curie. The bomb that exploded in Hiroshima started its journey from Paris. A native of Warsw came to Paris to pursue highier studies in physics and went to win two noble prizes. Newly discovered Bacqurel rays interested her and she decided to do further research on the rays. She was allowed to do her research in School of phycis Lab in Paris. She made her discovery in that lab.The author describes in detail the early struggle by Marie Curie. Then came the revolutionary discovery-structure of atom made by Ruther Ford and Frederic Soddy at Cavendish Labratory. Ruther Ford has shown that atoms can be smashed by radio active paricles.Next important discovery is discovery of the existance of neutron by Chadwick. An american scientist Earnest Lawrence has constructed the first Cyclotron at Berkly in U.S.A.

Diana Preston described the development of atomic physics in various labs- Cavendish lab at England, Heisenburg in Kaiser wilhelm institutes in Germany and Neihl Bohr in Copenhegn till the on set of first world war. When Hitler came to rule Germany he started persecuting the jews. Diana Perston then proceeed to describe the perscution and purge adopted by Nazis in Germany and occupied countries. The pathetic flight of Lisa Meitner, Neil Bohr, Leo slizard a hungerian jew, Enrico Fermi of Italy is depicted in the most gripping manner by the author.

As the war advanced to a crucial stage both Germany and Brition could not further their Atomic research owing to relentless bombing among them. Great Briton pressed America to develop the atomic research and lent their scientsts for the project. Once America was convinced of the feasability of atomic research into weapons, the project was accelerated. The project was named as manhatan project. Colonel Leslie Groves was made as head of the project. Brilliant American scientist Robert Oppenheir, again a jew, was apponted as its Director. Then the author describes in detail how the emigrant scientists, mostly jews, built the SUPER BOMB.

The moral aspects of the Atomic bomb and its effects were also affected the scientists. Leo slizard, Neil Bohr, Robert Oppenheimr have felt great dilema in helping to build the atomic bomb. In fact Leo slizard have devoted his energy and time in convincing the world leaders for limiting the weapons among the nations after the war. The author has devoted an entire chapter at the end asking 'if' what would have happened had the scientists involved in the Atomic bomb prematurely dead before the bomb and similiar other questions. This is one book you should not miss of you are interested in history of Atomic bomb.

" History, even the history of science, is inherently about people how they thought, what they did with their thoughts and how they interactd with the individuals immediately around them, and then with society and then with greater world order."

A New Earth

I came upon an interesting book "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle. After Colin Wilson's The Outsider, this book amazed me. It is thought provoking. The author has introduced the readers to the evolution of ego.

Ego is congolomeration of recurring thought forms and mental emotional patterns that are invested with a sense of I, a sense of self. It is an accumalation of conditioned thoughts.

"I think therefore I am". Said Rene'Descartes 17th centuary philospher. Hence he must be the first that discovered ego. But the philospher did not know then.It is Jean Paul Sarte who looked in to Descarte's statement 'I think" very deeply and realized the true meaning. The consciousness that says "I am" is not the consciousness that thinks. It is a different dimensions of consciousness. It is the awareness that says "I am". If there was nothing but thoughts in you, you would not even know you are thinking.

The author discusses the many forms of the ego. The various roles that ego play- Proud superior being with enormous ego or that of self piting people with inferiority complex and so on. The collective ego of a race, nation, and religion and egos of the conquered people and that of defeated people cause havoc on a nation. These collective egos are responsible for genocide and massacre like world witnessed in Germany as holocaust and Mylai massacre( committed by defeated u.s. army) and as recently in Gujrat.

He tells us how ego manipulates one self. Ego always need to feel superior. You are about to tell someone the news of what happened, "Guess what? you don't know yet? Let me tell you?" If you are alert enough, present enough you may be able to detect a momentry satisfaction with in your self just before imparting the news, even if it is the bad news. It is due to the fact that for a brief moment ther is, in the eyes of the ego, an imbalance in your favour between you and the other person. For a brief moment you knoe more than the other. The satisfaction that you feel is of the ego and it is derived from feeling a strong sense self relative to other person. Even if he or she is the president or the pope, you feel superior that moment because you more.

The author speaks about how old pains and grievences help ego to act as pain body.Our body has its own intelligence. That intelligence reacts to our mind and its thoughts. Emotion is the body's reaction to your thoughts. Various cores of action like conversion of oxyzen and food into energy, the heart beat, circulation of blood and thousands of similiar function are coordinated perfectly by body's intelligence. The intelligence also react to certain conditions like anger, fear,pleasure and so on. The author calls this as instinctive responses also known as emotions.These emotion also arise as a response to thoughts. Sometimes the mind can thought of an event which may be sad or anger or unpleasent. Our body reacts to that emotion which may not be actual. He calls this pain body.

The author also tells us how to free from one self from ego and pain body. We need to awaken. Awakening is awareness. Awareness is being in the present. Presence is the key to all our happiness. This book is worth not only for reading but also for practising. It is a transformational book.

Beauty

Beauty, Beauty where are you?
I asked when I was five,
Bubbly, Bubbly! Beauty is you
Said my mother on her drive.

Beauty, Beauty where are you?
I asked when I was ten,
Beauty, Beauty Games for you
When you play you see heaven.

Beauty, Beauty where are you?
I asked when I was sixteen,
Beauty, Beauty Flowers for you
Flowers and music make your teen.

Beauty, Beauty where are you?
I asked when I was twenty,
Beauty, Beauty lies in Luv
Go for it before you are forty.

Beauty, Beauty where are you?
I asked when I was forty,
Beauty, Beauty Family grew
All your children make life hearty.

Beauty, Beauty where are you?
I asked when I was sixty,
God and Nature p’heps wait to
End your life’s long treaty.

A Poem

To day morning suddenly I came upon an idea about a poem. Here it is.

Beauty lies in the heart
Not easily to be bought
Make a journey in to the heart
No pain no thought
Smiles only it brought
That’s the way it may last.

Narmada Bachao Andolan

Narmada Bachao Andolan [Save Narmada Movement] is a people’s movement that mobilized, adivasis farmers tribal farmers against the Sardor Sarover Dam being built across the Narmada River. The Dam when built would cause immense ecological damage through the inundations of forests, including prime habitats of rare species. The proponents of the Dam claim that this plan would provide larger amounts of water and electricity, which are desperately required for development. The opponents of the Dam question the basic assumptions of the Narmada valley Dev. Plan and believe the planning is unjust and iniquitous and the cost benefits analysis is grossly inflated in favor of building the Dams. It is well established that the plans rest on untrue and unsound assumptions of hydrology and seism city of the area and the construction is causing large scale abuse of human rights and the displacements of many poor and underprivileged communities. There is not remotest prospect that the displaced people the ‘out sees’ will be adequately settled not that the ecological damage compensated for. There are also real doubts borne out by the experience of larger Dams else where in India that the Dams yield main projected benefits of Hydro power Irrigation and drinking water.

NBA started as people’s movement against this development in the mid 1980’s; it has greatly succeeded in generating a heated debate across the sub. Continent between the pro’s and against the Dam construction. Medha Patkar has associated herself with the NBA along with Baba Amte another activist. Medha Patkar is a graduate in Social science. She moved to live among the tribes of the Narmada valley in the 1980’s and alerted them to the fate, which awaited them when the Dam got constructed. NBA vigorously campaigned for the rehabilitation and resettlement for the Dam ‘oustees’

Two newspapers ‘Hindu’ and ‘New Indian Express’ have taken two different views on the Narmada issue. While Hindu sided with NBA, Express took the side of Dam promoters. Eco disaster did not prevent these people to drop the height of the Dam. Even if we accept the development of the four states is the only criterion we must at least accept that the Dam oustees rehabilitation and resettlement should have taken care of. What Meda patkar now insist that the families of the oustees should have been compensated fully before the construction of the Dam. Is not fair that Narendre Modi and his cohorts should try to understand the justice behind the oustees demand. Is it because they are tribals and Adivasis?

Amir khan the super star who, produced such a thought provoking film Rang De Basanti have lent his weight to NBA. He has understood the problems of Adivasis and Tribals. But BJP and Congress parties in Gujarat have agitated against Amir khan and indulged in vandalism in Theatres in which Amir’s films were screened. These two parties are at each other’s throat in political battle for share in spoils of pie. But they joined hands to oppose Amir’s support for NBA. Perhaps vote bank politics prevented them to side with the poor and have-nots. Amir has rightly said in his interview with ND T.V.
“The political parties in Gujrat are trying to protest me. I want the nation to watch this footage very carefully. This is the way they speak.”

He has further said

“I have seen water problem that the people of Kutch faced and I am extremely sympathetic to the cause. I want water to reach all these four states and the people who need this water.”

He only wants the people who are displaced should be compensated for. What a bold line he has taken? There is a difference between the super stars of North and the super stars of South. Super stars of South are greedy and power hungry and they act in front as well as behind the camera. The super stars of North are socially aware and they act only in front of the camera not behind. Be it Sunil dutt Dilip kumar or Shobna Azmi or Vivek Oberoi.

Instead of appreciating of Medha Patkar and Amir Khan some people are critising their stand and protest. What Arundhati Roy has said is correct. Here is what she said :

“… The poor of the country are already deciding why they are taking of arms all over Chattisgarh, Orissia,Jharkahand.”