SanjayPodder's Pathshala

Travel Tips for a Journey called Life

2010-06-25T21:41:00.000-07:00

Common Travel trips we all know:
1. Travel light
2. Eat less
3. Take rest

However in the Journey of life we do just the opposite:
1. We travel heavy ie we desire to acquire as much possession as we can. This makes the journey hard and full of stress.
2. We Eat Lot in other words we consume a lot and waste a lot.
3. We need to rest our mind and body to allow it to rejuvenate and energize.

Both these factors we need to remember to have an enjoyable life.

Other Tips:
1. A Trip becomes memorable with the places we see and people we meet. Good people leave a lasting impression. In life, places is equivalent to the experiences we gather and people we meet and help. This makes life's journey very enriching.

Understanding GOD

2010-06-25T21:33:00.001-07:00

One of the fundamental belief is the existence of GOD whom a large section of mankind believe in and another large section may choose not to believe in. Everyone wants to see GOD but you can count on your fingertips who could see GOD. In fact GOD is not seen but felt. And the reason being most of human beings are hardwired to feel GOOD when they lead a certain kind of life style based on cleanliness of mind, spirit and soul, integrity, honesty, compassion for all and love. These set of feelings is GOD. And when you live a life based on these principles you feel the presence of GOD.

Its a New World

2009-09-29T23:59:00.000-07:00

I am not referring to Bryan Adam's song 'Here I am'. My mother other day said something very profound. She said that the world works on the principle of 'newness'. Leaves drop and new leaves sprout. We age very fast but the next generation is ready to pick up the mantle. The world continuously refreshes itself. This is a profound principle. It gives a good perspective of why organizations continuously try to innovate. Why cities change and civilization evolve.

Space and Time Relationship

2009-09-29T23:40:00.000-07:00

Two fundamental dimension of the physical world around us is space and time. We can describe any event in the context of where and when.
Time is tightly bound to 'change of space'. In otherwords, if there is no 'change in space' the concept of time becomes meaningless. For eg: If you remain physically unchanged and rooted to your surrounding with same environment then time becomes meaningless. We recall our childhood, youth, travel etc because they caused change in 'state' which can be physical form or emotional feel.

Time is as such a 'derivative of space' and Space is an 'Integral of Time'.
So the fundamental aspect is therefore Space or as Vedas put it 'Brahmand' which again is a function of 'consciousness'. When you are dead the world ceases to exist for you. If all 'living' creatures get annihilated will 'Brahmand' still exist. No. Since the consciousness is not present.
The fundamental aspect of the universe is therefore consciousness. Space and Time are the eyes and ears of consciousness.

Predicting the Indian Economy

2009-07-08T07:56:00.000-07:00

Heard the top economic minds debate the Indian Budget. It appears that the Indian Govt is trying to simulate the economy by funding large Infrastructure Projects. This will put money in the pockets of rural folks and convert their unsatiated needs to 'demand' which is referred to as 'Growth'. The intend is to achieve 9% Growth. So far the story looks great. This is not different from what the Maharajas used to do in the past. During severe drought, maharaja of udaipur dug large manmade lakes etc.

However what is interesting is the second part. The Govt is funding these activities through borrowing since it doesnot have money. This is popularly called as fiscal deficit. The fiscal deficit is 12% in India. What is wrong by borrowing money? There are several implication.

1. Since Govt will be borrowing from the market, it will be sucking out liquidity from the market. This will make capital scarce and will result in Interest rate hike. A high interest rate is bad for the economy since funding becomes expensive and kills enterprise and hence damoens the economy.

2. Govt can print notes. This will however depreciate the indian rupees making imports more expensive. Good for export sector though. A high forex rate will further increase fiscal deficit, lower rating of the Indian economy and discourage investors since the true return on investment will be lower. Petrol cost will rise and will in general cause an increase in cost of all items and higher Inflation.

Clearly we are bracing up for a high interest rate, high forex rate in the near future. This will also result in high inflation as the true value of indian rupees will get depreciated.

It is therefore easy to predict the future:

1. Cost will skyrocket

2. Loans will be very expensive

3. Real purchasing power ie demand will diminish.

4. Growth will suffer.

What is required is the following:

1. Lower interest rate. This will stimulate enterprise.

2. Optimum forex rate to balance import and export obligations. A strong indian rupees is important at this hour.

India has a string domestic economy. Dependence on exports is less. The need of the hour is tighter measure to lower fiscal deficit and not the other way around. The economy should be stimulated not by borrowing but greater private sector participation through lower interest rate and availability of funds in the capital market. I hope Pranab Mukherjee reads my blog.

Pondering over Xacutti, Caffreals and Vindaloos...

2008-08-23T09:48:00.000-07:00

Just had a short holiday in Goa. Food is a great introduction to any place. It reflects the history of the place and the culture of its people. I stayed in a much hyped place called Taj Fort Aguada. I was forced to explore the world outside of the confines of the hotel.The first night we had dinner at a beach side place called 'Souza Lobo'. The place is located on Calangute beach. I tried a Goan dish called Xacuti. Xacuti is made out of Coconut based gravy and is really yummy. Try with steamed rice. We aslo tried Pomfret Rechado. This uses Red Goan masala and is pretty good. The next day, I had lunch at RioRica, which is a pretty authentic place in the legendary Hotel Mandovi. I tried Red Snapper fish in Caffreal preparation. This was introduced by the Portugese from their colonies in Africa. Cafreal is simply out of earth. I thought the food was awesome. I also tried another Goan altime favourite called as Vindaloo. Vindaloo is the hot and fiery gravy based dish. Try it out if you like spicy, hot food.Food in Goa brings you close to a culturally rich people who have beautifully imbibed global influences from Europe and Africa. No wonder Goa feels home for people from anywhere in the world.I relished every moment of my short vacation and ensured that I maximise the fun I have for every moment. And why not? I was paying exorbitant amount of money for staying in Taj. I was shelling out a princely sum for something as basic as tea. I wanted to ensure that I get the maximum returns on my buck. I guess this is what most tourist do and this is not surprising. Time is premium when you are on holiday and you want to maximise the enjoyment.However, what is surprising that we have a totally different attitude when it comes to 'life' which is nothing but a vacation of a life time. We do not care a damn about how we spend our precious moments. We focus on trivial things. Just imagine if we bring the same intensity to our lives as we give to our holidays. Spending every moment on things that matter. Treating every moment as a expensive gift from god. I am sure we will then try to maximise the value we get for the time we spend.Tomorrow when you wake up in the morning, treat it as a vacation. Ask yourself what you want to do today. It can be something you always wanted to do but never tried it out. It may be just picking up the phone and saying hello to a good friend or an old aunt. Maximise Your Life. Its the most expensive vacation we have got.

Be Good Be Happy?

2008-04-26T21:46:00.000-07:00

Without any doubt most people want to be Good. I presume that being Good is equated to being Happy. And who does not want to be happy?
As a kid I was always confused by how I can be happy by being good. For example, a good kid will share the chocolate he has with his sibling. Is it not better to be bad and eat the whole chocolate instead. I never got the answer. But whenever I prayed to God, I asked him to make me Good.
Very recently, I read an unpublished letter from Swami Vivekananda to his friend. Vivekananda refers to the unhappiness that seem to be growing in his mind as he tries to alleviate the happiness in the mind of people around him. Mother Teresa's letter to the Pope also refers to her intense pain and the feeling that god has deserted her. A normal human being cannot feel happy by serving lepers. Was Mother Teresa Happy? Why was Swami Vivekananda not happy though he was Good?
I believe being Good and being happy are two different things. You can be Bad and very Happy. I think our Politicians look very happy. Being Good and then being Happy needs immense inner strength. You have to be a super being. A good person is sensitive to the problems in his surroundings and pain of his brethren. He tries to go beyond his personal area of concern and tries to console and relieve people of pain. In the process he feels the pain as well. Goodness cannot naturally lead to happiness.
So do we have a choice? Can we decide to be Good or Bad. My feeling is that you are born with an inherent nature. Good people will not be much successful even if they want to be bad. Can a Netaji Subhash succeed in becoming a politician of today. A bad person cannot become good even if he tries. Can George Bush become like Lincoln?
It is not your choice. It is gods choice to make you play a role. Be good but do not expect that you will be happy. Build resilience that will allow you to consume all the poisons but still bring light in darkness.

Namaskar

2008-01-11T22:10:00.000-08:00

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