Thoughts And Trivia

Slogan written under India's Official Symbol of three Lions, is in Sanskrit Language:
"Tamso Maa Jyotirgamya". This is a prayer to God to "Take (guide) me from Darkness (ignorance)towards Light (enlightenment). But I find the reverse journey very exhilarating."

I go for a walk every morning to a botanical park by the sea-side. The pathway is shielded by dense trees. This seclusion gives a sense of being shielded from daily humdrum life. But, of course you are in the company of scores of familiar faces of regulars.
Recent floods in Mumbai, left the electrical cables damaged in the park. Now it has no lights in the evening. They still allow you to take walk up to 7:30 pm. By 6:45 pm its already dark.
I find walk in evening from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm as almost a spiritual experience. There is only faint stray light. One walks aided by the habitual knowledge of the twists and turns of the pathway. The feeling of seclusion from everyday life is now total, since one can't even see the familiar faces of regulars. Dark shilhouette and faint patterns of lights on the ground create a heightened sense of surrealism.
One is all to oneself - in a totally unreal, weird, unfamiliar setting - this is the key to reach an uncommon mental state.(please see my post on gaining consciousness after being put under anesthesia)
One savours the present moment cocooned in the darkness. Its almost like meditating. Its now easier to defocus the past. What has happened in past is not by any hidden design. All that happens is just a random happening - to be accepted as such, not part of any trend or design. With these thoughts one gets magnanimous towards people around you - and not be anxious of what may happen in future. The more you are with such thoughts the more one clings to the present moment. Its a exhilarating spiral descent into self.
Its the journey back from garden through bright city-lights that is physically "Tamso Maa Jyotirgamya". But it is in the darkness of the park, that I am guided from ignorance to enlightenment. I wait until dark to get it!

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Volker committee report, instituted by UN has reported financial-scam of astronomical scale in UN sponsored Oil-For-Food program in Iraq. Is it not another example that our primordial-evolutionary ingrained programme makes human cheats, dishonest and hypocrites at heart.

So sad! This is nothing but snatching of food morsels from the hands of hungry Iraqis by a few influence wielders.
In general what are sure-shot ingredients which facilitate such large-scale corruption : -

• 1) When there is a large, artificial gap between the market-rate and the transaction-price. This gap is called "Rent" creation by Economist.


• 2) When such "Rents" are assigned, allocated or awarded in non-equitable, non-transparent and non-competitive manner, for reasons other than commercial.


• 3) When access to facts of such transaction is not made public for sake of commercial secrecy.


• 4) Even if 2) and 3) above are followed but when the group capable of such transactions is small and forms a cartel.

Why could such shenanigans escape the notice of press and public? What should be done?
Firstly UN should be reformed to conduct its business in competitive, transparent, equitable manner and in Public. It should also have an Ombudsman to look into such misdemeanors. There should also be external audit by independent experts.
Secondly, press and public has to be vigilant.
I also think UN should setup a mechanism to monitor large flows of moneys in the world economy and make these public. Drug trafficking, Terrorist funding, corruption and such scams would get detected. Violation of privacy of individuals and corporates is no arguments against it. After all commercial transactions are in public domain.

Business should be conducted like dogs do it - openly!

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