Guru is the Brahman

Last updated on: June 22, 2009 at 12:38 am By Desh Kapoor

गुरुर ब्रह्म गुरुर विष्णु , गुरुर देवो महेशवरः. गुरु साक्षात् परब्रह्म, तस्मै श्री गुरुवे नमः "Gurur - Brahma Gurur - Vishnuh Guru -devo Maheswarah Gurur - sakshat Param Brahma Tasmai Sri Gurave namah" Guru is Brahma, Guru is Vishnu and Guru is Lord Shiva. Guru is the Brahman infact... my salutations to the Guru. Today is the Father's Day. One role of Guru is that of a Father. He provides a seed, just as a father. The energy that is inherent in the Universal Consciousness or Shakti, then germinates it and takes care of it just as a Mother. This verse has the obvious meaning that is written above. But spiritually it probably has far more significance. It is not important who you talk about here.. but it is more about what we associate with the Guru. All the names/"points of reference" mentioned in the verse are like discrete points in a continuous curve. In the end, the verse declares that Guru is the "Truth" or Universal Consciousness. It is as if, you have to point someone to where the moon is on a full moon night as the moon is coming up. You point the person in a direction.. "there, behind the building is a tree..look at the leftmost branch.. behind that you can see the moon". Now, the building and the tree and its branches are near us.. on the earth. They are NO closer to moon than we are. Yet, they become a way to show where the REAL Answer to the question lies. Read more

The Iranian Situation: Two Camps in Iran and the Citizens, US and the Arabs

Last updated on: June 21, 2009 at 11:04 pm By Desh Kapoor

A lot has been happening in Iran recently pre and post elections. I have not really blogged on that issue, because it has been talked of and commented upon everywhere else. But today I thought I will touch upon it, to at least share my thoughts on it. Digital Revolution Citizen Journalism started some years back. In the aftermath of tsunami, bloggers from many places came together to combine their influence and information to help in the relief efforts and keep us updated. That, in my view was the first truly Global effort at citizen participation. Such efforts then happened more and more. Mumbai Attacks last year, were another example of this. Blogging from Iraq had been a potent way to leak information out to help people know what was happening as US invaded Iraq to flush out Saddam Hussein. However, in earlier examples, there wasn't an element of prohibition, specifically at the level at which it is in Iran right now. Yes, the guys in Iraq feared for their lives... but no one was switching off blogger.com. Here is a strange situation. The regular media has either been shut off or severly restricted. What happens then? Every citizen is a potential journalist then. Every citizen can take a Mobile picture and send it to his/her friend elsewhere and have it twittered for 2 billion people around the world to see! It is not about WHO YOU KNOW to make a news.. BUT that you have a recording device. The modern technologies have provided an "Eco-System" that has outstripped the power of legitimacy of the regular media. So, even a regular person can take a picture that redefines history.. you needn't be a kick-ass AP or Reuter photojournalist anymore. Read more

Why Economist succeeds and Newsweek/Time may close down

Last updated on: June 21, 2009 at 2:40 am By Desh Kapoor

There is an interesting article on "The Atlantic" site, that the news-weeklies like Newsweek and Times are in trouble due to the digital onslaught. Of most top news magazines, there is only ONE that stands out - The Economist. TO understand the difference, here is a stat: in the last year, while Newsweek’s and Time’s advertising revenues dropped 27 percent and 14 percent, respectively; Economist saw an increase of 25% in its Ad revenues. Now, mind you this is despite the fact that Economist's subscription is more expensive than the two US mags. In fact on US newsstands it sells at $6.99. Although, the writer of the article, Michael Hirschorn writes as if his ego has been badly stung as an American - in the way he criticizes the Economist and its writing as well as presentation style.. it is undeniable, that Economist has a class that Newsweek and Time do not signify... at least in the eyes of people outside the US. Read more

Frog and Frog-ni marry for Rain

Last updated on: June 21, 2009 at 1:49 am By Desh Kapoor

I am not sure why some of us Indians make an ass of ourselves .... specially for the world to see... while displaying our lunacy with all the pride!! Read more

Shahrukh Khan’s Comment on Mohammad and Al Taqiyyah

Last updated on: September 17, 2020 at 3:42 pm By Desh Kapoor

Shahrukh Khan is in trouble. Because the Muslims believe that he said something insulting about the Prophet. He was asked by a magazine "According to you who is the most impressive figure in history?" He replied "There are lots of them, some negative ones like Hitler, Napoleon, Winston Churchill and if I can call it history, then Prophet Mohammed and from recent time Nelson Mandela." "And there are nice ones like Gandhiji and Mother Teresa." Now, Muslims say that he clubbed Mohammad along with Hitler, Napolean and Churchill. Shahrukh Khan replied back to Mid-day on this:[1] "Obviously, I think there is no figure in history more important than Prophet Mohammed. Also, being a Muslim and standing up for the tenets of Islam is my most important agenda... and if they have seen my interviews, etc on TV about Islam, then the people who are objecting, should realise that what has appeared is a writing error not a thought or view that I believe in. Prophet Mohammed is the most important positive figure in Islam... and anyone who questions my view on that, is doing it just to create a controversy." Shahrukh had sometime back started asserting his Muslim identity since past few years and after 26/11, he made a grand statement about Islam and expressed his anger against the attacks.[2] Read more

Has Pakistan lost its Kashmir plank?

Last updated on: June 18, 2009 at 9:20 pm By Desh Kapoor

In its Editorial " " Daily Times, a prominent Pakistani newspaper says: There was a time when Pakistan wanted “movement” on Kashmir from India. Now India wants “movement” first, on terrorism. One phase is over whether Pakistan likes it or not. The next phase is upon us and that is Pakistan’s war against Baitullah Mehsud’s Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Al Qaeda. One reason phase one is over is that even for Pakistan, the priority now is getting rid of the terrorists. Read the para and specifically the last line carefullly. Does it betray a feeling that author is saying that until now, Pakistan wanted India to act on Kashmir (and without any introspection).. but now India wants Pakistan to move first on Terrorism. Well, the reason why India's assertion, which incidently, has been repeated as nauseum for decades now - ASSUMES importance because of Pakistan's OWN fight against Baitullah Mehsud. IF the terrorist (oops.. or were they "Freedom Fighters") had not hit Pakistan back, the Kashmir plank for Pakistan would have been a good one to pound India on. But now theauthor seems to be saying, Pakistan as a country has LOST the plank.. because the VERY foundation on which it built the plank.... has actually become the nemesis of its own existence!! Read more

Shiney Ahuja One Liners

Last updated on: June 18, 2009 at 7:02 am By Desh Kapoor

We know that Shiney Ahuja, the bollywood actor has been accused of raping his maid (kaam-wali Bai) and according to the reports he has also admitted to it. Read more

Pak's first National Anthem was written by a Punjabi Hindu

Last updated on: June 18, 2009 at 5:26 am By Desh Kapoor

I doubt many people realize this - and it was a shocking surprise for me as well - that the first National Anthem for Pakistan was written by a Hindu. His name was Jagan Nath Azad (1918-2004) and he was a prominent Urdu poet and educationist as well as an authority on Mohd. Iqbal. In 1937, he got a BA from Gordon College in Rawalpindi and in 1944 got an MA in Persian from the University of Punjab in Lahore. He was personally asked by Mohd. Ali Jinnah on August 9, 1947 to write the first National Anthem or Qaumi Tarana for Pakistan. It went something like this (just the first 3 lines are now available): Aey sarzameen-i-pak Zarrey terey hein aaj sitaron sey tabnak Roshan heh kehkashan sey kahin aaj teri khak Read more

Goseck Circle and Nebra Disk: there is something wrong with historic stereotypes!

Last updated on: June 18, 2009 at 2:48 am By Desh Kapoor

There are many things that happened back in history - prehistory, even - which seems completely incongruent with the historical eras and the accomplishments that our historians would have us believe existed at that time en-masse. Neolithic Age, for example, was the Stone Age where man was just a farmer and a herder. Now, if that's the only sophistication that man was capable of at that time, then Goseck Circle found in in Goseck in the Burgenlandkreis district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany does seem like an unbelievable piece of work! It was built in 4900 BC![1][2] It is so precise and is built to measure the days, years and the time of the year. The circle when reconstructed sent shock waves within the archeological circles. It was a solar observatory, which may be a milestone in astronomical history and also may challenge many stereotypes in archeological. In the attached picture, the yellow lines represent the direction the Sun rises and sets at the winter solstice, while the vertical line shows the astronomical meridian. Read more

Obama, the Fly Ninja!

Last updated on: June 18, 2009 at 1:04 am By Desh Kapoor

Obama is not only deliberate as his speech represents, but is a quick draw and very fast in the air as well. How do we know that? Well, look at how he swats a fly sitting on his hand during an interview with CNBC in White House. Great shot, eh!! Read more