Life and Spirituality

Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Poor_and_rich_in_Thailand.JPG W e know from history that in the past, much of the world’s wealth was held by a few rich and powerful kings and emperors. Has that changed now? Have you wondered how the world’s wealth is distributed in the new modern democratic age where we have rule of the people, by the people for the people. It seems that the emperors may not have gone away. They have perhaps just changed their style and address. Nevertheless as human civilisation advanced inequalities on the whole reduced or moved up and down over the centuries, then something dramatic happened around thirty years ago in 1985, inequalities began to rise again at ever faster rates. See here for precise scholarly data on this and simple ways to fix it. According to a report in the guardian,  The extent to which so much global wealth has become corralled by a virtual handful of the so-called 'global elite' is exposed in a n...

The Almond Tree F ood for life comes from life, one form of life deriving its food from another life form and in some cases even their own kind. Humans acquire food from plants and animals, two different kinds of complimentary life forms. In acquiring this food, violence is often perpetuated. While it seems natural for most animals to acquire their food any way they can, humans, who are capable of reasoned thinking, may wish to deliberate if violence is an essential part of acquiring food or if food may be acquired without any violence. Perhaps as humans evolve further away from their animal past, they shall learn of non-violent ways to meet all their basic needs that include food. The central question is, if it is possible to get fully nutritious and healthy food for mankind without the need to perpetuate any violence at all. Whenever humans eat meat as food, an animal has to be killed. Civilized humans attempt to kill an animal in the least painful manner but violen...

CAANS Systen Dress Color for Hillary Clinton O n the lighter side, t his blog has a couple of posts on dress color ( here and here ). Seeing that it was so much fun to find these dress colors out for some famous persons and seeing that it seems to have benefited them in their public pursuits (except President Obama in a private pursuit perhaps :) the thought occurred that it would be nice to discover the CAANS system dress color for Hillary Clinton in case she chose to run for President. If she did that and used this dress color for her public profile images or an appearance and won, perhaps she would then send me a thank you note. Many years ago her husband had sent me a thank you note from the White House while I lived in Canada when he was sent a copy of the Novella – Mystic and the Blossoms – that talks of development of third world villages and much else. These could then be framed, both notes together, for a wall piece, perhaps as an intensely narcissistic conver...

Shri Narendra Modi in shades of  NAMO  Blue S ome things that used to take months or years of research a few decades ago can now be done amazingly in a few minutes with the help of new technologies and services.   Just as an example, if we wished to search for the best dressed persons in the world today who are also regarded as some of the most beautiful humans on the planet, one can do that in seconds provided the right key words for that are used in a google search, and voila within seconds, with a high degree of accuracy you would have all the persons with their images neatly compiled on one page as this blogger discovered by using the search terms. What is even more significant is that it is a living list that is updated on a continuous basis. There are other famous agencies and organizations in the world that put out similar lists from time to time. However this list has the advantage that it is discovered on the basis of the best available computer...

W hen we look around us we find a million things to get miserable about because of the people we deal with, in our own shortcomings, that aching back, those pending tasks etc. Perhaps a tap is dripping or the roof is leaking and those drapes have needed a wash for years. As if that was not enough, when we set about comparing ourselves with so and so, we get even more miserable. The first causality of this misery is that we have no mind left to enjoy a million other things we could be happy about, including the beautiful song of birds that sing at the window every morning or the lovely red flowers that came up in the garden yesterday. If it will console the reader, be pleased to note that you are not alone in this. Everyone has just as many things to worry about as you including that famous Hollywood billionaire you thought was so lucky. That is what life is all about. In fact, the first thing to restoring our happiness is to stop comparing ourselves with those who are be...

Mystic and  the Blossoms S ome consider beauty to be just a fad, luxury or indulgence but t here is an intrinsic connection between beauty and prosperity as also happiness. Rather than write a blog post about it, may I refer you to a novella (something longer than a short story but briefer than a novel)  on this subject. There is an older post in this blog that talks a little more of this ( here ). The Novella is available in both print and electronic editions at many online retailers including Amazon web sites. The Kindle edition of the book is a free download for five days starting now at: http://www.amazon.com/Mystic-Blossoms-Ashok-Malhotra-ebook/dp/B005GT391M/

Rule of 10, 12 or 20 O ften we hear talk of raising the minimum wage in different economies of the world. The people who ask for this are those who have got trapped  into an exploitative economy where a few control most of the wealth and raise the minimum wage of the poor from time to time as feudal lords used to raise the salary of their servants and slaves from time to time. What needs to be addressed instead are income inequalities but those can be done by controlling the maximum wage not just the minimum one. Raising minimum wages could cause maximum wages to rise faster increasing inequalities further and inflation could erode the value of minimum wage even if increased as has happened in many countries. One might say that raising minimum wage could reduce inequality. but  that is a poor way to go about it. There is a far better way that has something to do with a ratio as explained next. It is not an advanced concept. Elementary school children learn about it...

T he botanical name of this plant is Withania somnifera. This plant grows wild in several parts of India including around my home here. The photo is one of a branch of this plant I snapped a few minutes ago. This   is one of the most important herbal medicinal plant in India for more than 3000 years. Modern medical studies have confirmed its benefits. Multiple studies have shown positive effects in reducing physiological and psychological stress as well as restoring and increasing energy levels. More than one study had findings showing a significant improvement in both cardiovascular and respiratory endurance. According to Kieran Cooley et al , http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2729375/ Clinical trials and animal research support the use of Withania somnifera for anxiety, inflammation, Parkinson's disease, cognitive and neurological disorders and as a useful adjunct for patients undergoing radiation and chemotherapy. Withania somnifera is also used therapeut...

Love of a mother I n spiritual philosophy there exists the concept of a soul. It is described as an imperishable part of humans that does not die even though the physical body does. The soul is the reservoir of our personality and the source of our emotions. What happens to it after a human dies? Well it can acquire another body and dwell in heaven or hell or float about as Casper the little ghost did. The details of what all can happen to a soul after death vary in different spiritual traditions of the world. Nevertheless, all of the major traditions admit to the existence of an imperishable soul. It seems that some time in the past, some Christian philosophers got together and concluded that while humans have a soul other animals do not. This is in contradiction to eastern schools of thought such as Buddhism which asserts that all life has a soul even the lowest of animals, nay, even insects and bacteria, and that a soul evolves gradually from the lowest levels to a h...