Secret Ballots

India has been a democracy for over 60 years now. But from top to bottom, secret bottoms are the norm for making the choices in all kinds of elections.

According to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_voting, secret voting is a method to ensure that voter's choices are confidential and the key aim is to ensure that voter records a sincere choice by forestalling attempts to influence the voter by intimidation or bribery.

I consider this a serious failure of democratic system not to be able to provide enough security to their people so that they can express their views in a democratic manner openly.

The situation has degenerated so much that even in our esteemed Lok Sabha, on a number of issues secret ballots are conducted time to time. If even our members of parliament not comfortable in speaking out their opinions in an open ballot then what is the point of having democracy?

Although it is said that secret ballots are a method of ensuring that a voter can make a sincere choice without any kind of intimidation or bribery, the reverse is usually what happens. The secret ballots provide an opportunity for people to make choices without any explanation. It is easy to take bribes and change your votes in a secret ballot mechanism since you are not accountable to explain your choice (nobody actually knows what choice you made).

I would like to ask why the people of an electorate don't have the right to know about the choices made by their representatives to Parliament and other assemblies?

To increase the level of accountability and transparency in our system, it is necessary to phase out secret ballots from various levels of legislature and administration. This includes the Parliament and State assemblies, Intra-Party elections to name a few.

Why Devatas don't do any Tapasya?

In all of your studies of Hindu Mythologies, have you ever seen a dev (Indra, Surya, Varun, Som, Chandra, and the lot) ever doing any form of Tapasya? Off-course the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh is excluded from the list. These three are the super gods and every body else is supposed to look forward to them for help. Its always the human beings and the danavas, who are usually found involved in doing Tapasyas. And as a result of their hard work they are often able to beat up even the devatas.

Whenever something wrong goes with the Devatas, they all seem to run to Brahma, Vishnu, or Mahesh and take shelter in them. You never find Indra doing anything except worrying about his Indrasana.

I did some research and hit the following:
http://www.samarthbharat.com/devdanav.htm

The article tends to clarify a lot of ideas related to being a Dev or a Danav. A Dev tends to give all the time while a Danav is always interested in acquiring more and more. If we look at the Mythology, we will find that the Danavs are generally interested in acquiring more and more through Tapasya. Somehow the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh are fine with giving in to their efforts and endowing them with great powers. Though they always make sure that there are some caveats in their boons so that at a later point of time they can be beaten by righteous people.

Since devtas are focused on conducting their duties (Sun ensuring that sun light is available to everybody, Indra making sure that rain happens regularly, Varun taking care of water etc.), they don't really have any desire or need to acquire more powers. Hence they don't need to go for Tapasya. And whenever they are in trouble (when Danavs attack them), they seem to get immediate help from the trinity without any problems. They are the favored ones always in the end.


More on this later...

Jaane woh kaise log the jinke

Jaane Woh Kaise Log The Jinke Pyar Ko Pyar Mila
Humne To Jab Kaliyaan Maangi Kaaton Ka Haar Mila

Bichhad Gayaa Har Saathi Dekar Pal Do Pal Ka Saath
Kisko Phursat Hai Jo Thaame Deewane Ka Haath
Humko Apna Saaya Tak Aqsar Bezaar Mila
Humne To Jab...

Isko Hi Jeena Kehte Hain To Yunhi Ji Lenge
Uf Na Karenge Lab See Lenge Aansoo Pee Lenge
Gham Se Ab Ghabraana Kaisa Gham Sau Baar Mila
Humne To Jab...

Logging in and Logging out

Whats this post about?

Oh, all of us keep logging in and out of so many systems every day. Our mails, messengers, work computers, home computers, bank accounts, so many things around us. It just dawned on me that this logging in and logging out is a much higher concept than just my Gmail and my gtalk and my laptop.

The Idea!

In an AHA moment, I just thought up that logging in is birth and logging out is death and we keep reincarnating again and again in different realms time and again.

Different Realms...

In our Hindu literature, we have different lokas like Swarg loka (for all the good souls), Narak loka (for all the bad guys), Patal loka (usually Rakshasa reside there), Goloka (Mr. Krishna conducts his Ras leela's there), Yam loka (Mr. Yamraj rules t here and with help of Mr. Chitragupt's accounts, keeps moving us around from one lok to another) and so on. . I was looking for a right word in English for loka and I finally thought that Realms are the same thing as our lokas.

Extending the Realms idea.. .

Then I extended this idea of realms a bit further. Each of these systems like Gmail, gtalk, yahoo, etc. are realms of their own. They provide a way to get into the realm and a way to get out. We all (the free spirits), have a choice to move around from one realm to another. In a particular realm, we have a few ways of moving around and interacting with other souls currently in the realm. The idea is pretty interesting. It may be crap but its an interesting crap.

A realm is essentially a system which provides ways to log in to the realm (taking birth inside it), and log out of it (dying out of it).

Every day is a new day (Or Every life is a new life)

Every time we log on to a system, its a new session for us. Things in one session are never exactly the same as things in earlier session. Things in one life are never exactly the same as a previous life.

Limitations

Every realm that we enter into, is a physical realm, which provides certain ways of interaction, while limiting other forms of interaction with other souls. In gmail, you can write mails to others, read current and old mails, in gtalk you can chat with others, on orkut, you can scrap and see what all others are doing (in a limited but its own unique way)

Sub realms

A realm can contain multiple sub realms within providing different ways of interaction. For example, Google is a bigger realm which provides various sub-realms like: gtalk, orkut, gmail, Google search, Google videos.

Your office is a realm of its own. Where you generally meet your colleagues. Your home is another different realm. India is a bigger realm containing multiple sub and sub-sub and sub-sub-sub realms. So is US.

Overlapping/Related/Connected Realms

A number of realms are actually related to each other in certain ways. For example, using an aeroplane you can move from India to US or come back later. Using the telephone, you can talk to another person, who is in a different country(realm).

Super Realm

The earth as a whole is a super realm which contains so many realms within for all of us human beings to keep us engaged from the earthly birth to earthly death.

Attachment

Attachment is our longing to go back to a realm again and again. We go back and check mails again. Chat with people again. Meet with them again.

The Dilemma

It is interesting to note that every possible realm has very limited ways of interaction. All of us beings are essentially free spiritual beings and don't enjoy limitations of any kind. Still to experience any particular kind of interaction, we will also have to embrace the corresponding limitations of the associated physical realm. In the end, we get frustrated with our limitations, and keep hopping from one realm to another looking for freedom everywhere.

Moksha

The day this need/desire to go back to all these realms will be over, we will have attained Moksha. That's too simplistic! When would this need/desire go? Only when we understand that all of us are essentially connected with each other and we don't need to go into the different physical realms to experience our connections. When we understand this, there would be no further need to go through the infinite cycle of birth and death again and again.

And then there will be light and we will rest in peace forever!!!

Aye Malik Tere bande hum

Film: (Do Aankhein Baarah Haath)

aye malik tere bande hum aise ho hamare karam
neki par chale, aur badi se tale, taki has te hue nik le dum

ye andhera ghana chha raha, tera insaan ghabara raha
ho raha bekhabar, kuchh na aata najar, sukh ka sooraj chhupa ja raha
hai teri roshni mein jo dam tu amawas ko kar de punam
neki par chale, aur badi se tale, taki has te hue nik le dum
aye malik tere bande hum...

bada kamjor hai aadmee, abhi laakhon hai is mein kamee
par too jo khada, hai dayalu bada, teri kirpa se dharti thami
diya tune hume jab janam tu hi jhelega hum sab ke gam
neki par chale, aur badi se tale, taki has te hue nik le dum
aye malik tere bande hum...

jab julmon ka ho samna, tab tu hi hume thamna
wo burai kare, hum bhalai bhare, naheen badle ki ho kamna
badh uthhe pyaar ka har kadam aur mite bair ka ye bharam
neki par chale, aur badi se tale, taki has te hue nik le dum
aye malik tere bande hum...

Getting Rich Slowly (The Non Conformist's Guide to Personal Finance)

Oh its not my idea.

Please read the whole article at http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/06/26/the-nonconformists’-guide-to-personal-finance/

And I am impressed by the article.

Oh just to revisit some of the principles mentioned there:

• Emergency saving funds (I usually have them, but seem to be doing bad on this count these days)
• paying off credit card balances every month ( I religiously follow this. Never paid a single penny extra to the credit card company)
• being aware of all your expenses (I try hard but am not good at it yet :( basically I try to keep everything in my memory and its not a good idea)
• using a cash method for discretionary spending (this is a good idea)
• long term index-fund investing (still to understand it)
• there is no such thing as a good debt (home loans, car loans, education loans, all are bad in the end, they constrain your freedom)
• a house is a liability not an asset (so true except for those who are in real estate business ;) )

Actually the article is about much more than just this. It discusses your larger view of life and how your management of your finances assist you towards achieving those.

Oh go ahead and read the whole article yourself. Its worth it.

http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/06/26/the-nonconformists’-guide-to-personal-finance/

Lyrics of 'Tumko Dekha to ye khayaal aaya'

Tumko dekhaa to ye khayaal aya
zindagi dhoop tum ghanaa saya
tumko...

aaj phir dil ne ik tamannaa ki - (2)
aaj phir dil ko hamne samjhaya
zindagi dhoop tum ghana saaya...

tum chale jaoge to sochenge - (2)
ham ne kya khoya- ham ne kya paya
zindagi dhoop tum ghana saya...

ham jise gunguna nahi sak te - (2)
waqt ne aisa geet kyun gaya
zindagi dhoop tum ghana saya...


Movie: saath saath
singer: Jagjit Singh