Life and Spirituality

Vancouver Harbor: Enamel on Copper tile by Jean Grant Horner H umans who believe that there is a Supreme Almighty Who governs the universe and all actions within it, attempt to do good deeds so that it may be noted by the Supreme Intelligence and they would be rewarded. This is the rational basis for their doing good. Many of them even have a rational basis to explain the difficulties that came to them because of birth. Perhaps they were born to very difficult circumstances or even handicapped. The rational basis in this case is that it is a punishment for wrong acts in a previous lifetime. If a believer does not believe in reincarnation he just says that it is some of God’s doing that can not be understood by a human mind and put to rational reason. To that extent they are ready to live with irrationality. Well, even if they found a rational basis for the defects of birth through belief in reincarnation they can not escape the charge of being irrational by the non believ...

A young Silver Oak tree in the Author's garden W hen I started to build my present home more than twenty years ago, it was bereft of trees. Two of the first trees I planted were a cassia tree and a silver oak tree, the first because it grows quickly without care and I was away most times practicing my profession and the second because I have always loved the silver oak tree from childhood. It indeed grew into a handsome tall tree that was a home for many birds and the envy of the street during its somewhat brief life. In 2007 it suddenly dried up. Some trees do that here perhaps because of termites. Many have in my garden over the years but they have been replaced by other trees. However, I never replaced the silver oak because it was precious to me and I felt that nothing else could take it place. But it must have left some seeds behind, because a few years ago a small sapling sprang up nearby. I left it in but did not hope much future for it because the location was...

A Cottage T he house that I presently live in was designed by me while in the Middle East some twenty five years ago. At that time I was not sure if I would build it, but since then I did and I am delighted with the design. It is a large home. However, over the past two decades the city has grown around it and over the past few years, I considered building a smaller cottage, for a farm, forest or the hills, just a small bed room and living room with a patio for the sun. However, I am quite satisfied with the home I live in and have given up the romantic idea of escaping into the wilderness. Perhaps if I was younger I would have but not now. Any building, even if it is a small cottage requires a lot of energy to build and the best time to do it is when one is in the thirties, forties or at the latest in the early fifties. At the present time it is just more convenient to rent or live in a hotel during forays into the hills or wilderness. Nevertheless, I shall post the design her...

There has been hue and cry in Europe that some samples of beef have been adulterated by horse meat. Presently widespread testing of meat products is on in Europe and such samples are being withdrawn from the shelves Europeans are feeling relieved but sitting far away here nearer to the Himalayas rather than the Alps, the news that processed meat is being tested for Horse DNA has caused a serious concern in the  mind of this blogger for fellow humans of a neighboring continent. Therefore I have rushed to post it right away so that it may catch the attention of the right persons on the net. The concern is that if a company is willing to deceive as regards horse meat what prevents it from deceiving with other kinds of red meat available even more easily such as dog, cat, buffalo, camel etc. etc. Although some of these meats are not available in Europe they are available across the lagoon from Europe (my term for North Africa). Tests for horse DNA will not reveal if a ...

Simplicity Remorse Right Effort Wickedness and Lying Some words in a picture! universal love order and beauty Non violence

 When this blog was created some years ago, I began by writing posts related to the spiritual side of life. Later posts of a green life were added and the title was changed to “Spiritual Thoughts for a Green World’. Since then other posts have been included on the economy and other things. Therefore today I am changing the title to a more appropriate one ‘Life and Spirituality’. The url remains the same therefore you would still land here when you click on a link posted elsewhere earlier.

  You are what you eat Recently it has been found that horse meat was being sold as processed beef products in Europe. Although after the discovery such foods are being withdrawn from the shelves, there are other undesirable foods sold as processed foods by some industries to increase their profits. It seems under the seasoning category, powdered cow hides are sold by some. Some countries allow up to 20 per cent seasoning in food. There is a need to bring this down to no more than ten per cent for a start. Even if a food industry honestly and sincerely sells one hundred per cent beef or any other animal products there is nothing to stop them from using the poorest of such animals and the foulest of the animal parts in the processed burger, sausages and meat sauces etc. The best cuts can be sold at a much higher profit as unprocessed meat and it is unrealistic to expect any organization that works on the principle of maximizing profits to use those parts in their process...

Modern Banking It appears that before the financial crisis a few years ago the Royal bank of Scotland was indulging itself in risky investment gambling. It is a really fun game where bankers in nice white shirts and bright ties play on a computer screen for huge profits. Mind you there is no stress of risk. They gamble with our money. They are smart and talented at the game and therefore win most times. The winnings are distributed under the name of a bonus that is on top of their already hefty salaries for coming in every day to the bank to play the game. But guess what, gambling is gambling and does involve the risk of losing. When they lost heavily before the financial crisis the poor fellows were consoled by their bosses by giving them a bonus anyway, albeit a smaller one. The losses suffered by the bank as a whole were made up by the British Public. The government as a result has ended up with a bigger deficit that they are making up by cutting public programs ...

Babaji or Baba Haidakhan ( Hairakhan, Hairdahan), The Havan and the fire Reproduced from my other blog http://nainitalgoddess.blogspot.com It was in the early eighties, as an Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) at Delhi I had rented an apartment a few kilometers away from IIT, at a place known as Masjid Moth (DDA Flats). There was accommodation on campus but with two infant daughters and a live in full time Nanny to boot the accommodation on campus was a bit too compact for our needs. I lived in this apartment from approximately the middle of 1981 to the middle of 1984. It was during this period when I had an  unusual spiritual encounter. I do not recall the exact date when the encounter took place but the incident itself is crystal clear in my mind. At the time my wife with nanny and children were away and I was alone at home. It was morning, some time after breakfast when the bell rang. I opened the doo...