Raise your words, not voice.

 Raise your words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.

Raise your level of consciousness, you see more to pick the ennobling words.

Words are the beginning, words capture reality, without words it is unconscious.

Wording brings to consciousness, awakening from the groping darkness.

Darkness to awakening through words is shabda Brahma. 

T N Chaturvedi: The Last Best of the Lot, is no more.

T N CHATURVEDI: THE LAST BEST OF THE LOT IS NO MORE.

I had an occasion to relate to  three Chancellors, who are invariably the Governor of the State in State Universities. When I was a Registrar of Bangalore University (1996-2000), it was Kurshid Alam Khan, and when I was the Vice Chancellor (2002-2006) of the same University, it was initially V S  Ramadevi (who appointed me as VC) and later on it was T N Chaturvedi. All the three of them were excellent personalities, two of them were highly accomplished bureaucrats and Ramadevi was a Lawyer. They used to call us often, enquire about the University's progress, and even gave suggestions. On the whole, they were very supportive, had lot of concern, for the cause of higher education. They all were totally apolitical while dealing with the matters of  University. Once, Ramadevi even warned me to be careful about some people who are out to create troubles in the campus for their selfish ends! Perhaps it was the first, and the last, time that all the VCs of Karnataka pooled together and gave her  a send off with a fabulous gift when she retired. VCs had such a high esteem and regard for her.

 Chatuevedi showed such a lot of affection and respect that I was often moved by his gesture. He even wanted me to give my published papers that I think is important ones. One of the paper I gave was on drawing some insights from our ancient wisdom for the development of higher education, and he liked it so much that he said that he won't return it although I had told him it was the last reprint left with me! When he retired, he moved to New Delhi. Whenever he visited Bangalore I used to get a call from Rajbhavan, where he used to stay, for a chat. How I regret now that I did not make use of that opportunity most of the time owing to my prior engagements. We have lost him. May he attain sadgati.

All the three of them were totally uncorrupt and incorruptible as well.

How fast and rotten the things have turned out now. Subsequent men have sullied their office and the cause of higher education in karnataka almost irreparably lost . Most of the VCs appointed during the subsequent regime are facing several charges of corruption, facing enquiries and  in all the cases where enquiries are completed the VCs concerned have been indicted, and against some of them even FIRs are filed and are facing imminent arrest. Corrupt Politicians and others in Power select corrupt  VCs and the corrupt VCs select corrupt faculty and with the politicians in power joining hands fully in the mela, education is doomed in karnataka!  

Human Par Excellence: A B Vajpayee(1924-2018)

HUMAN PAR EXCELLENCE: ATAL BIHARI VAJPAYEE (1924 - 2018).


My memory goes back to 2003 when I had shared a platform with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It was the year in which Bangalore University in collaboration with ISRO had organized Indian Science Congress in the BU Campus. As is custom, the Prime Minister of India inaugurates the Congress every year. I as BU VC  along with the PM, Governor T N Chaturvedi, the CM Sri S M Krishna, Vasundararaje Scindia, then Central Minister of Science and Technology, ISRO Chairman K Kasturirangan  and  host of other dignitaries were on the dais. In my welcome speech I recited a few lines from Vajpayee's poetry, especially the one I have liked most: " Lord, do not take me so high that I cannot hug my people on the ground".

He was a tallest human being, a poet, a great parliamentarian, an extraordinary orator, and a debater with dignity hurting none, not even the opponents. His achievement as Prime Minister is too well known: Nuclear tests, The Lahore summit, Kargil War, National Highway Project, Foreign Policy, Economic Reforms, and so on, and faced difficult situation with calmness and dignity such as India Airlines hijack, attack on Parliament, Gujarat Violence. He was a real jewel of India-Bharata Ratna.

May he attain sadgati.

Man who saw God and got transformed into a new human being.

Om Swami (2014): If Truth Be Told, a monk's memoir. Harper Collins. Pp.253. Rs.499.

ಕನ್ನಡ ಅನುವಾದ: ಬಿ ಸ್ ಜಯಪ್ರಕಾಶ ನಾರಾಯಣ (೨೦೧೬): ಸಾಫ್ಟವೇರ್ ನಿಂದ ಸಾಕ್ಷಾತ್ಕಾರದ ಕಡೆಗೆ, ಸನ್ಯಾಸಿಯೊಬ್ಬನ ಆತ್ಮವೃತ್ತಾಂತ. ವಂಶಿ ಪಬ್ಲಿಕೇಷನ್ಸ್. ಪು. ೨೮೫. ರೂ. ೨೫೦.


Of late I have been seeing here and there , in the magazines, writings of one Om Swami on the topics of spirituality, and our ancient wisdom. I was wholly impressed by his clarity, sincerity and thoroughness. I was wondering who is this Swamy suddenly appearing out of the blue as it were. Last week I had a visitor at home who asked me to suggest him a book that impressed me most. Having replied I asked him the same question. He suggested the above book, an autobiography of a monk. I got the book online and started reading and finished it almost at a stretch in spite of my age and ailments, such is the power of his writing, of his honesty.

 It is a story of a man(Amit Sharma) from Haryana who at his eighteenth year heads to Australia, gets his bachelor degree in Business and an MBA  from Sydney and with his knowledge of computer programming sets up business in software in Australia and later in Canada, UK, US and India , becomes a multimillionaire at the age of 26, and by the age of 30, having provided for his parents and sibling comfort through out their life , gifts all his wealth to a third person, heads to Himalayas to see God that was his goal right from his early childhood. Having studied all the scriptures already, finds gurus in the Himalaya, does vigorous sadhana with rigorous discipline in the caves, often in most  excruciating circumstances. In much less than 10 years God appears in front of him, hugs him and disappears. He was, to use a cliche, never the same man again. The scintillating experience of merging with infinity, of being one with all beings, living and nonliving. It was an indescribable 'experience', impossible to put it in words, as, an Upanishad says, no word and mind can reach it, much less comprehend and even approximate It. Yet, the author was able to script It in few words that is spell binding.

Some quotes from the end pages: " ..... to be enlightened means to live in the light of love, compassion and truthfulness." "Your knowledge of rituals and the scriptures, the time you spend in place of worship, the money you raise for religious causes - such things, I am sorry to tell you, have absolutely no connection with God unless the heart is open to the divine."  "...... objective of religious acts is to purify yourself and cultivate compassion and gratitude." : "We need both spirituality and science." ".. truth is not a one-size-fits all. It's a personal matter, a private affair. Einstein found it in a laboratory. Buddha found it under a tree. Edison found it in a light bulb, ....."  "A sense of fulfillment comes from walking your own path. For some it may be meditation, for others it may be music, dancing, painting, writing or reading. Find what makes you happy and pursue it." " I've given you my truth. Go, discover yours."

He lives in his ashram at the foothills of Himalayas. His blog, omswami.com, where he writes every week, gets more than a million views annually, says the blurb. The latest I saw was more of a dialogue, question and answers, than a discourse.  It was fresh and profound. He is all over the globe, sharing his experience and conducting meditation camps.

Kashinath is no more

ನಟ, ನಿರ್ದೇಶಕ, ನಿರ್ಮಾಪಕ, ಸಂಗೀತ ನಿರ್ದೇಶಕ ಕಾಶೀನಾಥ ನಿಧನ.
ಒಂದು ವಿಶಿಷ್ಟ ಸಂದರ್ಭದಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಮನೋ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನಿ ಮತ್ತು ಸಿನಿಮಾರಂಗದ ಕಾಶೀನಾಥರ ಬೇಟಿ ನನ್ನ ಮಿತ್ರ ವೈಎನ್ಕೆ ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಆಯಿತು. ಅವರ ಒಂದು ಸಿನೆಮ - 'ಅನುಭವ' ಇರಬೇಕು - ಸೆನ್ಸಾರ್ ಬೋರ್ಡ್ ಅಶ್ಲೀಲ ಎಂದು ತಿರಸ್ಕರಿಸಿತ್ತು. ಪರಿಣಿತರ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ ಪಡೆದು ಪುನಃ ಪರಿಶೀಲಿಸಲು ಕೇಳಬೇಕೆಂದು ನಿರ್ಧರಿಸಿ ಕಾಶೀನಾಥರು ಒಬ್ಬ Expert ಗಾಗಿ ವೈಎನ್ಕೆ ಕೇಳಿದಾಗ ನನ್ನ ಹೆಸರು ಸೂಚಿಸಿದ್ದರು. ನಮಗೆ ಸಿನೆಮ ತೋರಿಸಿದರು. ನಾನು ಸುಧೀರ್ಘವಾದ ವಿವರಣೆ-ವಿಶ್ಲೇಷಣೆಗಳೊಂದಿಗೆ ನನ್ನ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ ಬರೆದು ಇದು ಅಶ್ಲೀಲ ಅಲ್ಲವೇ ಅಲ್ಲ, ಬದಲಾಗಿ ಇದು ಒಂದು ಪ್ರಮುಖ ಅನುಭವದ ನವಿರಾದ ಹಾಗೂ ಹಾಸ್ಯಲೇಪಿತ ನಿರೂಪಣೆ, ನೋಡಲು ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಸೂಕ್ತ ಸಿನೆಮ ಎಂದು ಬರೆದ ನೆನಪು. ಸೆನ್ಸಾರ್ ಮಂಡಳಿ ನನ್ನ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ ಒಪ್ಪಿಕೊಂಡು ಬಿಡುಗಡೆಗೆ ಅನುಮತಿ ಕೊಟ್ಟಿತು. ಸಿನಿಮಾದ ಶೀರ್ಷಿಕೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ನನಗೆ 'ಕೃತಜ್ಞತೆ' ಯನ್ನ ಅರ್ಪಿಸಿದ್ದರಂತೆ, ನಾನು ಮತ್ತೆ ಟಾಕೀಸ್ಗೆ ಹೋಗಿ ಆ ಸಿನೆಮ ನೋಡಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ.

ಅವರ ಸಹೃದಯತೆ, ನೇರ ನುಡಿ-ನಡೆ, ವಿನಯ ತುಂಬಾ ಇಷ್ಟವಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಅವರ ನಿಧನದ ಸುದ್ದಿ ನನ್ನ ಅವರ ಒಂದು ಒಡನಾಟದ ನೆನಪು ತಂದಿತು ಕಂಬನಿಗಳೊಡನೆ. ಅವರ ಕುಟುಂಬಕ್ಕೆ ನಷ್ಟವನ್ನು ಭರಿಸುವ ಶಕ್ತಿ ದೊರಕಲಿ. ಅವರಿಗೆ ಸದ್ಗತಿ ಸಿಗಲಿ.

Jogi's new book: pritisuvavarannu kondubidi

ಶೋಧಕ ಜೋಗಿ.
ಜೋಗಿ ಅವರ "ಪ್ರೀತಿಸುವವರನ್ನು ಕೊಂದುಬಿಡಿ- ನಾನು ನೀನು ಸಾಯದೆ ಸ್ವರ್ಗವಿಲ್ಲ!"
ಪುಸ್ತಕಕ್ಕೆ ಎಂತಹ ಕರ್ಕಶ, ಕಾನೂನು ಭಾಹಿರ ಹೆಸರು! ಏನೋ ಭಯಂಕರ ಭೀಭತ್ಸ ಕಾದಿದೆ ಎಂತಲೇ ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಬಿಚ್ಚಿದೆ. ಅಲ್ಲವೇ ಅಲ್ಲ. ಬದುಕಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಅಂದುಕೊಂಡ ಮಧುರ ಭಾವ, ಪ್ರೀತಿ-ಪ್ರೇಮ ಪ್ರಪಂಚ ರಹಸ್ಯದ ಶೋಧನೆ, ಅವುಗಳ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ ಸವಾಲುಗಳು ಪುಟ ಪುಟದಲ್ಲೂ ತೆರೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತವೆ. ಆಳವಾಗಿ ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಕೆದಕುತ್ತವೆ, ಆವರಿಸುತ್ತವೆ. ಪ್ರೀತಿಯ ಕಲ್ಪನೆ-ವಾಸ್ತವ; ಮನೆತನ, ಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯ-ಪ್ರೀತಿ, ಪ್ರೇಮ ಗಳ ವೈರುಧ್ಯವಿರುವಾಗ ಅವುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದನ್ನು ನಮ್ಮಲ್ಲೇ ಕೊಂದುಕೊಳ್ಳದಿರುವಾಗ ಬದುಕು ದುಸ್ತರವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಒಂದೊಂದು ಕತೆಯೂ ಪ್ರೀತಿಯ ಹಲವು ಮಜಲುಗಳನ್ನು ಬಿಚ್ಚಿಡುತ್ತಾ ಪ್ರಶ್ನಾರ್ಥಕವಾಗಿ ಮುಗಿಯುತ್ತದೆ. ಕಾಮು ವಿನ ಕತೆಯೊಂದನ್ನು ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾ ಹೇಗೆ ಮಗನ ಮೇಲಿನ ಪ್ರೀತಿಯೇ ಮಗನನ್ನು ಕೋಂದೇ ಹಾಕಿಬಿಡುತ್ತೆ, ಅದು ಈಡಿಪಸ್ ನಂತೆ ಅಜ್ಞಾತವಾಗಿದ್ದರೂ ಬದುಕಿನ ವಾಸ್ತವ ವನ್ನು ಸಾರಿ ಹೇಳುತ್ತದೆ, ಎಂಬುದನ್ನು ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಮಾರ್ಮಿಕವಾಗಿ ತೋರಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಜೋಗಿ.
ಪ್ರೀತಿ ಮಾತು ಬಂದಾಗ ಎಷ್ಟೋ ದಶಕಗಳ ಹಿಂದೆ ಓದಿದ ಬೇಂದ್ರೆ ಯವರ ಕವಿತೆಯೊಂದು ನನ್ನ ನೆನಪಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಈಗ ಹೀಗಿದೆ:
ಪ್ರೀತಿಯೆಂಬೆ
ಕಪ್ಪೂರದ ಬೊಂಬೆ
ಸುಂದರವಾದುದು ಜ್ಯೋತಿಯನ್ನು, ಸುವಾಸನೆಯನ್ನು ಬೀರುತ್ತಾ ತನ್ನನ್ನೇ ಕರಗಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು ಅವಸಾನವಾಗಿಬಿಡುತ್ತದೆ ಕರ್ಪೂರದ ಬೊಂಬೆ. ಕ್ಷಣಿಕ. ಪ್ರೀತಿಯೂ ಹಾಗೆ!
ಪ್ರೀತಿಯ ಬದುಕನ್ನು ತೀವ್ರವಾಗಿ ಜಾಲಾಡಿ ಒಂದು ಗಾಢವಾದ ಎಚ್ಚರವನ್ನು ತುಂಬಾ ಯಶಸ್ವಿಯಾಗಿ ಕೊಟ್ಟಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಜೋಗಿ ಈ ಕೃತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ. ಭಲೇ ಜೋಗಿ

Doctors Strike in Karnataka

Karnataka Doctors on Strike.

Needle of Suspicion won't cure anything!

Doctors in Private Establishment have stuck their work over the Karnataka Private Medical Establishment Act( strictly speaking it is neither the Act or the Bill as it is yet to be introduced in the legislature) which the Government would like to bring to regulate private doctors in "inhuman" ways on the charge that those doctors exploit patients to earn  huge money for themselves. Patients are left in a lurch as they are hesitant to go to Government Hospital because of poor facility or corruption there and the other course of seeking Private Centers are closed due to strike.

The Private doctors argue that there are already stringent bodies to regulate and monitor them such as IMA, Consumer Courts and Civil and Criminal Courts and there is no need to have yet another Body. Government argues that exploitation is continuing in spite of those Bodies and hence the new regulation to put stringent measures to curb the malpractices. But, what is the guarantee that even the Bodies created by KPME Act also won't be equally, if not more, corrupt as the other existing Bodies? It would be one more center to harass private establishments.

There are good and bad in both Private and Government medical establishments, may  be the bad is increasing in both the sector of late. The medicine you offer(KPME) to cure that can not be worse than a disease.  Some of the Private Medical Facility in Karnataka have made good name in the national and even International level, patients from different part of the world come to Bangalore and other centers in Karnataka and return with high praises for the cost and facility here, please do not destroy that. Punish the guilty soon and harsh in both the sector but encourage the good ones equally soon and wholeheartedly in both the sector.

 The way the Government is handling the crisis is giving raise to all sort of suspicion, the latest one going round is that Rs 500 crore was asked for Election Fund and when the Private Managements did not accede the KPME is brought in, the Management even went to the Command at the Center and there too they were told to settle at the local level! The delay may further confirm the the rumor round. I hope and wish that the rumor is unfounded and somebody among the doctors who are involved should come out boldly either way (Yes or No) to the rumor for the sake of social health.