I was pretty upset at my housemate. I looked at the bedside clock — it was barely 6 AM — and he was talking loudly to someone on the phone in the next room. Then he knocked on my bedroom door. “Wayne, what the hell’s the matter with you?” “Atanu, my mom called from the East coast. Come out and take a look at this,” he said. The TV was on in the living room. Evidently, one of the towers of the World Trade Center in NYC was on fire. It didn’t take long for the realization that it wasn’t just a fire. I stood there in my pajamas watching the drama unfold until I had to go to teach class at noon. I told the class that we will talk about something more important than indifference curves and utility maximization. I knew it in my bones that things had changed.
Continue reading
Day: September 10, 2011
Sept 11, 1893: Swami Vivekananda in Chicago
On this day, Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) spoke at the Parliament of the World’s Religions at Chicago in 1893. He addressed his audience as “Sisters and Brothers of America” and proceeded to introduce them to the dharma — the Sanatana Dharma which is also known as Hinduism. Here’s bit from that speech:
Continue reading
