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Posts tagged ‘India’

Dec 29

wormhole1

Sheldrake on “Through the Wormhole”

From the Science Channel website: The belief in ESP or the sixth sense dates back thousands of years. The Greek historian Herodotus wrote that Croesus, who ruled a kingdom in what is now Turkey in the sixth century B.C., consulted oracles — that is, groups of priests claimed to be able to predict the future — before he went to war. In ancient India, Hindu holy men were believed to possess the power to see and hear at a distance, and to communicate through telepathy. In the late 1700s, the Viennese physician Franz Mesmer claimed that he could give people ESP powers by hypnotizing them.
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Nov 30

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My 41 Books for 2010

I just realized that I’ve gone an entire year without posting my reading list. Obviously I didn’t do a lot of writing this year but I did do a lot of reading. Here is the list in chronological order with the ones I’m still reading on top.

  1. The Adventure of English: The Biography of a Language by Melvyn Bragg
  2. The Spiritual Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Case for the Existence of the Soul by Mario Beauregard and Denyse O’Leary
  3. The New King James Version of the Bible
  4. Buy-In: Saving Your Good Idea from Getting Shot Down by John P. Kotter, Lorne A. Whitehead
  5. Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hsieh
  6. The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi
  7. The Invisible Gorilla: And Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us by Christopher Chabris, Daniel Simons
  8. The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean
  9. The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe by Theodore Gray
  10. The Lords of Strategy: The Secret Intellectual History of the New Corporate World by Walter Kiechel
  11. Super Sad True Love Story: A Novel by Gary Shteyngart
  12. The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature by Steven Pinker
  13. How Pleasure Works: The New Science of Why We Like What We Like by Paul Bloom
  14. Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years by Diarmaid MacCulloch
  15. Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution by Richard Beeman
  16. Landmark: The Inside Story of America’s New Health Care Law and What It Means for Us All by The Washington Post
  17. God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World – and Why Their Differences Matter by Stephen Prothero
  18. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams
  19. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
  20. The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan
  21. The Edge of Physics: A Journey to Earth’s Extremes to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe by Anil Ananthaswamy
  22. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
  23. Anticancer, A New Way of Life by David Servan-Schreiber
  24. Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science by Atul Gawande
  25. From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time by Sean Carroll
  26. The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
  27. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
  28. Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin
  29. The Complete Infidel’s Guide to the Koran by Robert Spencer
  30. Why Evolution Is True by Jerry A. Coyne
  31. What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures by Malcolm Gladwell
  32. The ESP Enigma: The Scientific Case for Psychic Phenomena by Diane Hennacy Powell
  33. The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution by Richard Dawkins
  34. The Age of Entanglement: When Quantum Physics Was Reborn by Louisa Gilder
  35. Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos by Michio Kaku
  36. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
  37. Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun by Wess Roberts
  38. The Death of Conservatism: A Movement and Its Consequences by Sam Tanenhaus
  39. Tao Te Ching: A New English Version by Stephen Mitchell
  40. Taj Mahal: Passion and Genius at the Heart of the Moghul Empire by Diana Preston and Michael Preston
  41. In the Line of Fire: How to Handle Tough Questions…When It Counts by Jerry Weissman

Mar 27

Tourists Flock to Jesus’s Tomb in Kashmir

There is talk of the missing years of Jesus, unmentioned in the gospels, when he was between the ages of 12 and 30. Some say he was in India, picking up Buddhist ideas. These aren’t notions that have entirely died out. The US-based Christian sect, known as the Church Universal and Triumphant, is the best-known modern supporter of the belief that Jesus lived in Kashmir, though they don’t believe he died there.

And in Islam, in which Jesus is the penultimate prophet, there is also a minority tradition adopted by the controversial Ahmeddiya sect, that Rozabal does contain the grave of Jesus. Professional historians tend to laugh out loud when you mention the notion that Jesus might have lived in Kashmir – but his tomb is now firmly on the tourist trail – and a growing number of credulous visitors believe that he was buried in the Rozabal shrine.

BBC News – Tourists flock to ‘Jesus’s tomb’ in Kashmir.

Feb 22

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Photos From India

It’s hard to capture the reality of India – the beauty, the animals, the poverty, and the smiling kids if you are a really crappy photographer like me. So, I’ve put together a slide show from my trip to Delhi plus pictures from other parts of India that I want to visit next time. At the beginning of Mahabharata, Vyasa says, “once you have finished reading this poem, at the end you will be someone else.” India is the same way – India does not change for you. India changes you.

Jan 7

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India: A Land of Contradiction

I came to India to see how people here live – day to day. How important is commerce, religion, family? What I’ve found is that India is not that different from Europe or the United States. Their concerns are the same as ours. Religion here ranges from the superficial to the profound; commerce is the engine that drives the country; and family is very important. I wasn’t sure what to expect and perhaps expecting something different was a little silly in hindsight. I tend to focus on commonality rather than differences but here are some differences:

  • The people here are incredibly curious – curious about everything. I’m a minority here and get lots stares and smiles. When I am filming or taking pictures complete strangers walk up and want me to take their picture. It’s inexplicable to me.
  • There is no concept of waiting in line. There are so many people competing for attention that the solution is to just rush any service counter and push until you get to the front. It’s not considered rude – it’s just the way it is.
  • Traffic follows pretty much the same rules. If you can squeeze in between two lanes of traffic in the middle, go for it! Surprisingly, I’ve yet to see any serious accidents. There are dividing lines on the road but they are a complete waste of paint. There are also traffic lights but they are largely ignored unless a few police officers are directing traffic. The power grid goes down so often that you can easily understand why people ignore the traffic lights – most of the time they do not even work.
  • The poverty is everywhere. In fact, it is so ubiquitous that it’s easy to ignore. It appears the poorest people do not do most of the begging because they are busy doing whatever jobs they can find. The state hires street sweepers – not the big machines like in the US – to sweep the streets with straw brooms. They are everywhere sweeping away. In a dusty city like Delhi, it’s an endless job. I’ll have to write more about poverty later as I haven’t had a chance to really mentally process this side of India.
  • Construction is everywhere. You can see the tangible results of the massive influx of money into India. There is no doubt that India’s potential is yet to be tapped.
  • I’ve also discovered that there is no reason to learn Hindi if you want to do business in India. Everyone with a college education speaks English and there are enough signs in English that an American can easily find their way around. However, without knowing Hindi you really miss out on the heart of the culture. Most of the working class do not speak English and that’s the majority of the population – at least in Delhi. If you want to understand India, you’ll have to learn the language.

That’s all I’ve got for now. I will write more later…

Dec 21

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India Itenerary Maybe

I’ve been given great advice from several friends that know India very well. Most question my sanity of even wanting to go. One friend said, “Why not a nice vacation in Australia instead?” I’m still waiting on my visa stamp before leaving and may have to make a last minute change to my itinerary if it does not arrive in time for my flight. I need to get a malaria shot and also some other preventative medication for my trip. There is a whole universe of parasites, bacteria, and viruses that my immune system has never encountered that it’s going to be a blitzkrieg on the system. I could spend the whole time with a fever and sick in bed but I really hope not. I wonder if they sell Purell in Delhi?

Anyway, here is my itinerary so far. From the friends I’ve talked to, I will be lucky to make it to even half of these destination but I’ll give it a shot. My main destination will be Varanasi – if I can get there. I may have to take a bus or fly since the trains fill up early and I have no idea when I will be leaving right now. I don’t think I will take my laptop but I will have my iPhone so I can tweet. I’m also thinking of buying a video camera if I can find a decent HD.

Sep 20

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Varanasi, Banaras, Kashi, and Ganga

After reading and wondering about India my whole life, I’m finally going. I will be there for about 3 weeks. My main destination is Varanasi and the many small villages between there and Delhi. Though I’ve tried to learn a bit of the impenetrable Hindi language I am lucky that most Indians speak English. So, even if I get completely lost perhaps I will be able to get back on course with some help.

Friends (especially my Indian friends) always ask: Why India? There are so many other great places on the planet to go. From what I’ve learned so far, India is just about as different from America or Europe as you can get. If there is a spiritual axis that the world spins on, its center is India. In some places, little has changed since the days of the Mahabharata 6,000 years ago. No doubt sometimes it will be tiring, annoying, miserable, disgusting, and heart wrenching but it will be different. Different is what I’m always looking for.

Here is a summary of Varanasi from Wikipedia:

According to legend, the city was founded by the Hindu deity, Lord Shiva, around 5,000 years ago, thus making it one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in the country. It is one of the seven sacred cities of Hindus. Many Hindu scriptures, including the Rig Veda, Skanda Purana, Ramayana, and the Mahabharata, mention the city. Varanasi is generally believed to be about 3,000 years old.

Why the fascination with the Hindu religion? Of all of the world’s mythologies, Hinduism is by far the most expansive, creative, and strangely accurate in describing the universe. Hinduism is less about humans and more about the universe – it’s not a personalized religion like Islam or Christianity. There is something sublime about a religion that understands that humanity is not the culmination of creation but only a small part of something much more amazing. It’s what amazed Carl Sagan about Hindu cosmology and it’s what amazes me, as well.

Why learn Hindi? Sanskrit? As Joseph Campbell said, “Sanskrit is the world’s great spiritual language.” Sanskrit shares a common ancestor with Latin. Linguists are still stumped on what that common, parent language was but the syntax of Latin and Sanskrit are so striking that it has become a race among linguists to uncover the this “mother” language. Hindi is distant offspring of Sanskrit. They both use an almost identical Devanagari alphabet. India is broken up in two linguistic regions: Devanagari and Dravidian. If you are really interested there are thousands of excellent papers out there exploring these connections. As an interesting side-note, there is a tradition that has Jesus spending his formative years in India – the so call “missing years”. Interestingly, linguists believe there is a strong connection between Brahmi (the origin of Devanagari) and Aramaic (the language that Jesus spoke). That sounds like a pretty exciting reason to me.

I will post pictures and journal during the trip. I will be leaving Dec 29. And for those that don’t believe I’ll dunk myself in the Ganges, I’ll take pictures. Wish me luck.

Nov 3

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Fall ’08 Reading List

I’ve compiled quite a list for the rest of this year. I’ve actually finished a few of these but I wanted to write them down so that I can keep the list up to date. Not that anyone really cares what I’m reading, but I go back to these lists to find conscious and unconscious themes in my interests. I’m still tackling a lot of religious themes and also took a detour last month to read a few books by Barack Obama.

I also decided to read Mahabharata from beginning to end. I’ve read a greatly abridged version but the full version will probably take 2 years to finish. The unabridged translation of the Mahabharata contains 74,000 verses, long prose passages, and about 1.8 million words in total. Put another way, it is roughly ten times the size of the Iliad and Odyssey combined. It’s going to take me a while. I’ve also being pulled back into physics and I have picked up a few new interesting books. Of course, I’m still making an unsuccessful effort to learn Hindi – and, as always, I am re-reading some old favorites like Catcher and Pale Blue Dot. Anyway, this is the list.

I’m also going to try to get through a few Teaching Company courses by the end of the year:

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