I am off to visit the old neighborhood. Southwest Airlines flight from Philadelphia, PA via Chicago, IL to San Jose, CA.
Here are some quotes I like. Continue reading
Personal Stuff
The UFO I Did Not See
OK so this one’s going to be right out of left field, to use an American expression. It’s got nothing to do with economics or politics or whatever I usually discuss on this site. It’s strange, totally unexpected, utterly peculiar. And I did not see it coming. Had I been able to see it, it would not have been as mystifying. I would have noticed something moving slow across the sky but I could not have noticed something that flashed across the sky. This is what happened yesterday (Wednesday) morning. Continue reading
The Management of Air India are SEFs
As commercial airlines go, Air India is nothing to write home about. Air India ranked third-worst performing airline in the world, reported Economic Times in Jan 2017. Air India’s all-round dismal performance–customer service, timeliness, cabin service, heavy commercial losses, etc., etc.–is not surprising considering that it is a Government of India enterprise. Nothing that the GOI does is ever done competently and well. The bureaucrats and politicians are perhaps the least competent in the world, barring a few African banana republics. Continue reading
Is it hot enough for you?
Today was hot. It was 102°F in San Jose, CA, my fair city. That beat a 1945 record for the day of 99°F. I kid you not. Here’s a screen capture of the weather here. (For those of you in the civilized world of metric measures, 102°F is around 39°Celcius.) Continue reading
Keith Hudson (1935 – 2017)
My friend Keith Hudson passed away in England today. He was 82 years old.
Maya, Moksha, Nama and Rupa
Maya
Pondering the fact of death, I am reminded that impermanence is a central feature of the world we live in. The phenomenal world — of things and events — is called maya in the dharmic traditions (namely Jain, Hindu, Buddhist & Sikh.)
The world is maya. Many people simply translate it as “ the world is an illusion” but that is incorrect. The world is real. Maya does not mean that the world is unreal or that it is an illusion. It means something like this: the world as we perceive it is not what the world actually is. We cannot directly perceive the reality that is at the foundation of what exists. That reality is given a word — Brahman. Most of us cannot comprehend the Brahman because we are limited beings. Continue reading
Material and Cosmological Beliefs
I am a Hindu.
In what sense am I a Hindu? Does what I read, write, wear and consume make me a Hindu? I think, read and write in English, I wear Western style clothing, I live in a Western country, etc. Even then I am a Hindu at the core of my being.
What defines me as a Hindu is my core belief system. How I comprehend the world is what determines whether I am a Hindu or not. The important distinction here is between “material beliefs” and “cosmological beliefs.” Continue reading
