संसद का काला इतिहास हो गया
पप्पू हमारा देखो पास हो गया
नोटों की चोट में वोटों के खेल से
मतलबी घटकों के स्वार्थ के मेल से
सरकारी खेमे में उजास हो गया
पप्पू हमारा देखो पास हो गया
संसद का काला इतिहास हो गया
शत्रु मिल एक हुए दोस्ती की रेल में
कौन कौन आन मिला पप्पू की भेल में
पप्पू का मुँह झकझकास हो गया
पप्पू हमारा देखो पास हो गया
संसद का काला इतिहास हो गया
कुर्सी का लोभ दे वोट को कबाड़ के
सत्ता की धौंस से किसी भी जुगाड़ से
देखो अमर कितना खास हो गया
पप्पू हमारा देखो पास हो गया
संसद का काला इतिहास हो गया
समझोता एटम का होगा विदेश से
उनको ना लेना देना अपने इस देश से
शायद ये देश का विकास हो गया
पप्पू हमारा देखो पास हो गया
संसद का काला इतिहास हो गया

Preface:

Of all the organized religions of the world, women have perhaps the most prominent presence, both visible as well as invisible, in Hinduism. As the Divine Mother, the Supreme Being affirms to Hindus that It has either has no gender, or It has both. As Sages, women have born the revealed word. As spiritual and religious teachers, Hindu women have sustained our Dharma in various ways down the ages. As noble queens and as warriors, Hindu women have protected our faith from disintegrating into extinction. As musicians, dancers and artists, they have been embodiment of all that is beautiful. As mothers, they have been our first teachers. As wives, they have provided the locus around which family and social life revolves. As daughters, they have taught us compassion. And as our guides, they have made many men into great human beings. This essay is a celebration of the divinity, power, beauty, wisdom, erudition and leadership of Hindu women down the ages. It highlights the central role that women have always played in Hindu dharma, society, politics, humanities and other fields of scholarship, and in our families.

Women and the Divine Word:-

“Profound thought was the pillow of her couch,
Vision was the unguent for her eyes.
Her wealth was the earth and Heaven,
When Surya (the sun-like resplendent bride) went to meet her husband.¹
Her mind was the bridal chariot,
And sky was the canopy of that chariot.
Orbs of light were the two steers that pulled the chariot
When Surya proceeded to her husband´s home!”²

The close connection of women with the Vedas³, the texts regarded as Divine Revelation (or ´Divine Exhalation´) in Hindu Dharma may be judged from the fact that of the 407 Sages associated with the revelation of Rigveda, twenty-one⁴ are women. Many of these mantras are quite significant for instance the hymn on the glorification of the Divine Speech.⁵ The very invocatory mantra⁶ of the Atharvaveda⁷ addresses divinity as a ´Devi´ – the Goddess, who while present in waters, fulfills all our desires and hopes. In the Atharvaveda, the entire 14th book dealing with marriage, domestic issues etc., is attributed to a woman sage. Portions⁸ of other 19 books are also attributed to women sages⁹.


^1. Rigveda 10.85.7

^2. Rigveda 10.85.10

^3. The four Vedas, namely Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda are accorded the status of divine revelation in Hindu Dharma.

^4. According to another count, the actual number is 28. But this inflated list includes feminine speakers such as ´rivers´ and so on. See Brihaddevata 11.84 for this list.

^5. Rigveda 10.125, the inspiration of Vac, the daughter of Ambhrina

^6. Mantra = Sacred verse

^7. ´Om shanno devirbhishtiye aapo bhavantu….´. The traditional recitation of Atharvaveda is commenced with this verse. The Paippalada version of Atharvaveda starts with this mantra. It occurs as mantra 1.6.1 in the Shaunaka version of Atharvaveda but even the recitation of this text is often commenced with the invocation to Devi.

^8. These portions are specifically termed as ´striikarmaani´ or acts pertaining to women.

^9. Women Sages are termed as ´Rishika´ while male Sages are termed as ´Rishi´.

Intelligent people less likely to believe in God

People with higher intelligence quotients are less likely to believe in God because they have questioning minds, a new study has revealed.

Researchers, led by Professor Richard Lynn of Ulster University, have found a link between intelligence and atheism -- in fact, according to them, university academics are less likely to believe in God than almost anyone else.

"Why should fewer academics believe in God than the general population? I believe it is simply a matter of the IQ. Academics have higher IQs than the general population. Several Gallup poll studies of the general population have shown that those with higher IQs tend not to believe in God," leading British newspaper The Daily Telegraph quoted Prof Lynn as saying.

He has based his conclusion on a survey of Royal Society fellows which found that only 3.3 per cent believed in God -- at a time when 68.5 per cent of the general British population described themselves as "believers".

According to Prof Lynn, most primary school children believed in God, but as they entered adolescence -- and their intelligence increased -- a large number of them started to have doubts.

Moreover, he said that religious belief had declined across 137 developed nations in the 20th century at the same time as people became more intelligent.

But critics have flayed the study results published in the latest edition of the Intelligence journal.

Two Thoughts

I've come back to you again because 2 thoughts have been bugging me for a long time, and I needed to pen those down...

Thought 1

The other night when I was hugging my Shonu and sleeping off, I felt that the things which give so much physical comfort and body warmth is the life within us and also our health...

Because we never sleep next to a dead man/woman's body, hugging him/her tight...it is quite an eerie and frightful feeling...we always embalm such bodies, at the most, touch their feet or ruffle their hair, or give them some farewell hugs in our tearful state...and prepare those bodies for their last rites...for the simple reason that these inanimate bodies are lifeless...

So the life within us makes us breathe so much of warmth into each other's bodies, and we enjoy the physical comfort of touching, hugging, petting and cuddling...

And, also a healthy body determines our physical proximity because we don't cuddle and sleep tight with people who have festering wounds or bed-sores or leprosy, however much they be our loved ones...because of the pain and mutual discomfort, the patient would experience as well as we...at the most, we offer our comfort to them through a healing hand or a loving touch or a soft caress...

Thought 2

The other day, you told me on the phone that as you are elder to me, so you have more experience of life...may be it holds true in your case, also for my parents and even your parents...but that set me thinking...does Age always predetermine one's Experience ?

And I found myself saying: No

May be, that little homeless boy on the street has gathered more experience than children like Sunny and Shoma who are given a sheltered life by us...

May be that rag-picker woman who has to struggle daily to make both ends meet and live with dignity in a man's world, even though she may be years younger to me, life may have taught her much more because of her harsh experiences...

May be that street-hawker, or that riksha-wallah, or that beggar, even though they may be years younger to us...yet life has added years to their life...for they learned it the hard way...

Even if we compare the same SES (socio-economic status), a man or a woman who has travelled the world, mixed with various cultures, stayed at different places, mingled with people of all races and studied their lives, irrespective of his/her age, would certainly have a more varied experience than Me or my Shonu based in UK for the last 7 years...

So I conclude that Age could be a predisposition to Experience, yet not necessarily an essential ingredient for a person to gather his intelligence and wisdom of what life has to offer him...

A short life can be full of varied experiences and a long life can be devoid of many experiences, depending on the circumstances which befall the person, how his fate governs his life, and how he adapts to struggle in this world of Survival of the Fittest.

So Mental Age is always independent of Chronological Age.

That's all for now...

Quite a long mail...

Happy Pondering !

I'll keep coming back to you in this cosy 'thinking-pad' of mine, to share my thoughts with you, may be daily, may be weekly, may be fortnightly, may be monthly...Life is Unpredictable, So Am I !

Tips for Domestic & Commerical Light & Fan Consumers

1. Make use of daylight and natural ventilation to maximum and avoid to use bulbs or tube lights during daytime.

2. Switch off light and fans if not in use. Reduce high wattage bulbs where less light is needed.

3. Avoid unnecessary decoration of lights.

4. In a vacant house, limit the use of electricity as per minimum requirement.

5. Switch on or off the streetlights in proper time.

6. Buy the electrical equipments, which use less electricity and are energy efficient

7. In air conditioned buildings and houses, keep the doors and windows close to save electricity. Clean A.C. filter regularly.

8. Use electronic regulators in fans, use 36-watt thin tube light instead of 40-watt tube light.

9. Use fluorescent lights in place of bulb to reduce consumption of electricity.

10. Use standard pins to tap supply from plug points. Avoid tapping supply by inserting bare wires.

11. Do not use lamp fittings to tie wires or ropes to dry cloths.

12. Replace fuse bulb after switch is off.

13. Defrost the fridge once ice gets more then ¼" thick. Regular defrosting reduces power consumption. Place the fridge with its coils at distance from wall so that the coils can have sufficient space to breathe. Do place the refrigerator near any heat source.

14. Use of light colour on walls reduces lighting requirement.

15. Make home safe for children against electrical hazards. Install plastic protective caps on plug points.

16. Electricity and water can be a deadly combination. Always remember that water and electricity should never mix.

TIPS FOR AGRICULTURAL CONSUMERS

1. Use foot valves of less resistance in tube well to reduce the consumption of electricity.

2. To avoid damage of bearings try to keep motor and pump in a straight line. This will reduce wastage of energy.

3. Use good quality PVC suction pipe to save energy.

4. Use appropriate pump sets, keeping in mind the height and capacity of pipe.

5. To improve the power factor and voltage use shunt capacitor with motor. This will also save the electricity.

TIPS FOR INDUSTRIAL CONSUMERS

1. Energy is lost by belts. Minimize the use of belts.

2. Keep the motor near load.

3. To improve power factor and so the voltage, use shunt capacitors with motor. This will also reduce the consumption of electricity.

4. The damaged bearings waste energy, change them immediately.

5. Use motors with good capacity and size.

6. Use one motor of appropriate capacity for one work.

7. Avoid loading of vehicles like trucks beyond the permissible height. This may cause electrical accident due to coming of vehicle in contact with electrical lines.

8. Don’t mount/tie advertisement boards, flags etc on electric poles.

9. Place "Men working’ sign boards on all switches before start working.

10. Place rubber mats in front of electrical switchboard.

11. Keep the fire extinguisher is good condition. Check them periodically.

1. In case of any leakage in power supply, get it rectified immediately. Replace defective electrical fittings and appliances promptly. Avoid loose connections & joints.

2. Install safety equipments for Earth leakage/Over load and Short circuit protection. Near point of supply.

3. Use proper capacity fuse wire and ensure healthy earthlings at the premises.

4. Get the wiring done through licensed Electrical contractors.

5. Use ISI marked equipments and cables of proper capacity even they cost more.

6. Ensure safety of meter and metering equipments. Prefer waterproof enclosures for them.

7. Construct building with proper clearance from HT/LT tension lines as per IER 1956.

8. Use electricity only for purpose for which the service connection has been given.

9. If energy meter is found stopped/defective please bring the matter in knowledge of MPPKVVCL authorities immediately in writing.

10. Pay energy bills regularly at authorized cash counters only within due date to avoid inconvenience due to disconnection.

11. For any difficulties related to electricity supply, always contract MPMKVVCL authorities at their offices.

12. Observe safety precautions to avoid electrical accidents.

13. Stay away from a downed power line and informed MPMKVVCL office immediately.

14. Beware of sub-station & transmission lines stay clear of sub-station, poles, towers structures.

1. Do not connect multiple equipments to a single point outlet to avoid excess loading.

2. Do not temper with lines, energy meters, cutouts, meter seals or metering equipments. It is an offence.

3. Do not use bare wires for extending supply from one point to other or from one premise to other.

4. Do not indulge in theft of electrical energy. It is cognizable offence and attracts penal charges and/ or imprisonment.

5. Do not plant trees below overhead lines.

6. Do not give application before completing the wring in your premises.

7. Do not delay to pay service connections charges and security deposit once the advice for payment is received.

8. Do not pay any cash to the Assessor when he visits your premises for meter reading. Cash payment for electricity charges should be made only at the authorized collection counter during working hours only.

9. Do not shift the meter or meter board without proper sanction by MPMKVVCL.

10. Do not hand over the application to the assessor and don’t send it by ordinary post.

11. Don’t provide space for fixing the meter underneath the staircase or outside the building.