I have read a lot of stories, but this one by Suresh Naig who wrote this for Desicritics was extremely haunting and profound. It is very simple yet powerful. Suresh very generously agreed to share this with Drishtikone. I want to personally thank him for this privilege to me. Please enjoy and also share your thoughts with Suresh here. ================= It was a pleasant Wednesday morning. Yet another day commenced as usual for the city college, amidst the rich greenery combined with the salubrious climate of Bangalore. But no one expected it to be unusual; so unusual that it turned out to be a blot on the glorious past of the institution. It was the month of October, frenzied celebrations of Ganesha festival had culminated and the city was preparing for Dussera celebrations. The expectation was palpable everywhere, including the campus. All the students studying in IInd year BBM, were engaged in hushed conversation about the new lecturer, who joined the college recently. He was a mystery to everyone right from his name - Yudhayas. No one could come to a definite conclusion about his religion. Rumours were thick and fast that his original name was different and he had changed his name by a sworn affidavit. All these things were unverifiable and irrelevant, but what is relevant was his appearance, which was unconventional for a lecturer. He sported long hair, which he would tie tidily resembling a ponytail, or allow the mane to flow occasionally and rarely he would knot the strands in a bunch. He was clean-shaven without a moustache, looked very intelligent with piercing eyes. No one had ever seen him smoking or indulging in unnecessary gossip. He never sported any religious insignia on his person, and avoided all questions in that direction skillfully. He had carved a name for himself among students, by his flowery and fluent language, unmistakable philosophy and a deep knowledge in his subject. In a short span, he became the favourite among the students. He never used to deliver monotonous lectures. Instead, he encouraged active participation. He used to say, that is what management is about. He would inform all his students in advance about the chapter he was going to take up next, and suggest books for reference for the relevant subject, so that every student did their neat homework before the chapter was taken up for discussion. This was something new and novel for the students, who were always accustomed to do the homework after any chapter was taught. He kept saying 'my job is not to teach, but to make you learn'. All the students were waiting with expectation for that day's class, which was about 'CONCEPT SELLING'. Though every one felt that they knew what concept selling was, in marketing parlance, yet they waited for the learned person's wisdom on that subject. Yudhayas entered the classroom exactly at 11 AM and as usual removed his wristwatch and kept it on the table. He was not only time conscious but also time perfect. He would initiate discussions; the discussion would continue for 40 minutes, he would sum it up in the following 20 minutes and wind up the class exactly in the 60th minute, unfailingly class after class. He had no inkling that this class would spill beyond the time and classroom. Read more

As the comment of Amit showed on the blog about Miracles - there are two extremes around which the human thought has unfortunately swung in terms of "Extra-ordinary" - or as some people call them "Miracles". The two sides are defined by the: 1. Materialist scientists - whose minds were inherently products of the Newtonian era which was a reaction to the dark ages - where post-Christ many superstitions had been started by lesser able people. So, as a reaction the modern science started with the assumption that what can be proved logically can prove denial of "God". The only problem with that stance was (and is) that nobody had really defined "God" adequately or properly. First, in its true sense, God cannot be defined. Its oxy-moronic. Second, if one has to define this quest, one can at least have the correct "Context". The problem with Western theology was that it was predicated on a completely distorted view of Jesus himself. He was supposed to be a proxy for pardoning of all perceived "ills" of the people who were in anyway trying to subjugate others. Their main aim was to colonize the others and Jesus (of their own definition) served as a perfect accomplice! So, to "wash away" all the guilt the entire edifice of a "Savior" was created. As if Jesus' only aim was to save all the others who would try and do wrong. For someone who was an epitomy of UNCONDITIONAL LOVE - an un-ending motive was ascribed. A Love that can pardon all - even enemies - is not a directed or a conditional love and its certainly not - as is commonly understood - the "opposite of hate". It just is. So, it was this conditional love - this directed love whose ONLY motive was to pardon all the ills that the coming generations were to do - was invented. Incidentally, if on the other hand, Africans had become strong and attacked the Europeans and made them slaves.. or maybe Hindus of India had done that and made Europeans as perennial slaves.. I doubt Jesus would have been characterised as a "savior". In any case, it was this setting that Materialist scientists rallied against. It was a good start. 2. Religious - they were obviously looking for some miraculous "quality" in their savior. So, they devised many ways to perpetuate it. Its not just the Christians but its true of everyone. Take Sai Baba or take the hugging Amma or others. Many have showed or done things that cannot be seemed to be explained. So, we call them miracles. Even the materialist scientists cannot explain them. That is a further "shot in the arm". Now, if science - which is so advanced and is inherently anti-God - cannot explain it then it must have "lost" - meaning since the hypothesis that was at the basis of science is proved wrong.. "God" is the doer of miracles! Since God was defined as an inconsistent monarch or patriarch who gives or takes away something, thats the best estimation of "Him" (another issue with most religious definitions - God even has a gender!). What both religious or the materialists did not see or do not see is that there is an entire layer of consciousness that is missing from their worlds. Read more

Can prayers save a dying person? Many believers say YES! Most rationalists say NO. Well, some say its a miracle. Some say its a fluke. I say its the property of the consciousness. Its the VERY property of this creation's very basic and most primordial substance - the energy. And it goes to the heart of creation. We have discussed earlier that Observation creates reality. Well Observation ALSO saves decay. So, if the entire world - or substantial part - could sit and meditate to save the world from Global Warming, I would not be surprised if the glaciers start forming back up. Nonsensical Mumbo-Jumbo? Well, couple of folks near my current town of residence proved it scientifically that "Concentrated Observation" can save the "dying"! The physicists call it the "Quantum Zeno Effect". The quantum Zeno effect is a quantum mechanical phenomenon first predicted by soviet physicist Leonid Khalfin in 1958.[1] Later it was described by George Sudarshan and Baidyanaith Misra of the University of Texas in 1977. It describes the situation in which an unstable particle, if observed continuously, will never decay. This occurs because every measurement causes the wave-function to "collapse" to a pure eigenstate of the measurement basis. In the context of this effect, an "observation" can simply be the absorption of a particle, with no observer in any conventional sense. Its the property of the basic consciousness - its NOT a "Divine Miracle" .. and its NOT something that materialists scientists can explain. But its a very objective and very simple analysis of how the creation occurs and indeed is sustained. As Vivekananda took pains at explaining - "Creation" is in itself a wrong concept to explain the Universe. What we experience is "MANIFESTATION" - and Sanskrit word - Srishti - really means manifestation, not creation. What is manifested is upto our "Mind". And that is the root of "Maya" - the Illusion. Its not because someone got happy at your prayers and because you are such a great "Believer" of that Godman or God... that you were "rewarded" .. but quite contrary to that, as "Saraswati" explains to Queen Lila in Yoga Vasistha very clearly: My dear Lila, I do not really do anything to anyone. Every jiva earns its own state by its own deeds. I am merely the deity presiding over the intelligence of every being; I am the power of its consciousness and its life-force. Whatever form of energy of the living being takes within itself; that alone comes to fruition in course of time. You longed for liberation, and you obtained it. You may consider it the fruit of your austerity or worship of the deity; but it is consciousness alone that bestows fruit upon you - even as the fruit that seems to fall from the sky really falls from the tree. Read more