The Luster of Periodic Table and a Blue Hat

Earlier today, I was looking at my good old lazy blog for correctness of a punch line, which goes like this - "Madness is busy in playing games with mind to violate the laws of conversation". It started a minor chemical reaction of sorts in brain - I'm still not sure if it stimulated the right brain a bit or left brain. But as the matter of writing is facts as well as creativity, I would assume it would have at least said "hello" to both the sides. 

It was after I had long stared at Dmitri Mendeleev's photo in my laptop wallpaper, which is a funny but inspiring piece with the top part printed with: 

"STAND BACK!

i'm going to try SCIENCE"

and bottom part printed with:

"AND OTHER AWSOME SHIT TOO!".   

In between the printings, on the right side, there was a picture of the great scientist with a beaker in one of his hands and he was pouring a chemical from the beaker to another one staying still in the other hand. All this while looking at the chemicals with focused experienced eyes. He, the inventor of periodic table, in his long white beard, a bow tie, cream shirt and well pressed 3 piece suit. The background of the wallpaper had one of the most striking tables of our teen age years - The "Periodic Table" (AAVART SARANEE) itself.

As I looked at the different letters spread out on the table, young years of life started painting its own pictures. The series of letters went like H - Li - Be - B - C - N - O - … - Na - Mg - Al - Si - P - S - K - Ca - … Pt - Au - … Bh - Hs - Mt…  I hardly could take my eyes off the atomic numbers and atomic mass for some time and the patterns followed by these numbers. I was lost in thoughts with the chemistry going haywire again after a long hiatus of 20 years and thoughts of the kids trying to figure out the best way to make Oxygen in a lab.

Sky was full of colors coming from different chemical elements, minerals, gases and metals, but then about an hour later, it started turning to its original colors - a sky blue sky. Life after 20 years started taking over - Cyber Security and Sales started occupying my thoughts.

I wanted to say loudly that the sky is not as sky blue today as it generally is. But then how blue is Copper Sulfate (CuSO4.5H2O)? But then why there are no blue hat hackers?

- Neeraj Mathpal

Dec 4, 2017

Two S's Of Life

Stability and Security : Not the prominent features of my next imaginary software, which will never be coded. It's about life. Somehow, whatever we do in our 20s and later on, we think about these two aspects, willingly or unwillingly. I'm not going to take exceptions on account, they are already caught by an exception block, but IN GENERAL, these are the two factors stuck with our life.

Here is what the dictionary says about these two words:

Stability - the state of being stable (not likely to change or fail, firmly established, sane and sensible, steady)

Security - the state of being or feeling secure (free from danger or threat), procedures and measure followed to ensure safety, state of feeling safe, stable and free from fear or anxiety

Let's examine them now from a social point of view.

Why did the players join ICL even after knowing that they are not going to play for their country if they opt for ICL? That can be termed as a 'daring decision', but most of the players were pretty much sure about their abilities and had their own share of fears that they won't be able to represent their country and the offer was very lucrative, which would give them security in terms of monetary gains. Career of a player is not very long, so they started thinking about their future and there was the bonus of 'playing with some international stars'. That feeling of doing something other than domestic cricket gave them required courage, but base was 'monetary gains'. IPL did the same thing with some sense of authority and gave the tournament a legitimate look. Results? Players are finding hard to conceal their happiness with the experience and money involved. It gives them the sense of security. Although, the stability factor is not very prominent with such leagues at this point of time, it surely will become.

Whatever one says, the reality is society does influence our lives. There are restrictions almost everywhere. The fear of failure stops many of us and gives us a thought about 'back up' plans. If you have ever thought, why academics are given top priority in general Indian society (replace academics with some work for people below poverty line), you will get only one answer - for 'stability and security'.

Yes, we do admire people like Sarathbabu, who struggled a lot in their life but still rejected lucrative job offers and went on to start a food business. We do admire people who have this uncanny ability to take big but calculated risks, who have the courage of not walking through a set path. But then we do say to ourselves that they are the exceptions and somehow find shelter again where there is some sense of stability and security. From where the demoralization comes - it again comes from society, because we do see so many failures around, whatever be the reason behind them. This fear of failure can't be overcome without ultra confidence in oneself. One looks for the feeling of a security statement, "it's going to be a success and not a drastic failure on one's or others (family / friends / relatives or whoever is in the circle) faces". I read one inspirational quote somewhere, "Even if there are challenges and hurdles, you should learn to look for the light at the end of tunnel". That might be true, but it requires lots of patience, which is usually absent when it comes to 2 S's. General thought process wants some light intermittently, if not everywhere.

What are the basic needs of human being? Shelter, Food and cloths! While one looks for security when it comes to food and cloths, same person looks for stability when it comes to shelter. Do you know why home loans are on a high? Growing ambition of independent home is there because of a greed named "stability". A factor "high rents" is just adding spice to this newly born phenomenon. Few years back, people used to look for a house after years of job and now, the generation next is not ready to wait for that much time, few years look like eternity. Running for worthless ambitions with wholehearted greediness is not going to take us to a different planet, it's just going to make the journey complex. This greed of stability is not going to be diminished, it looks like an in-born trait which is here to stay.


... TO BE CONTINUED ...

Little Offbeat

Today, I thought of writing about an offbeat topic, which still makes sense. Taking and compiling this abstract from some old pages of my diary:

It is really difficult to define the terms “Unattached work” and “Absolute unselfishness” in a very precise manner, because more or less these are the things to realize. Most of our thoughts are borrowed from some sources. They may be books or our ancestors. My case is also not a different one. After analyzing them, our creative mind makes its own theory. Sometimes it results in exactly the same theory with more or less intensity. I am fortunate to get more intensified. But whatever I've understood till date is not enough to show a clear view of all these terms containing lots of mystery. Today, I’ll write only about the borrowed things and most of the ideas are taken from Geeta. All the Shlokas written are the greatest philosophical weapons for any era. But a new compilation, new illustration is needed to understand the real meaning hidden with them. Anyway…

Unattached work (Nishkam Karm) is a very deep thing. For the moment, without going into details of different forms of Yoga, our center of concentration will be the battle field of “Karm Yoga”. I'll try to define the terms with respect to this yoga as I think we are, by default, attached with the "Karm Sansar". To start with it, it's better to follow the simple meaning of a Shloka –

"Hato va prapysi swargam, jitva va bhokshyase maheem.
Tasmaduttisth kauntaiya, yuddhay krit nischyah."

It clearly says if you'll do the work successfully, you are definitely going to get something. If you won't, still you are bound to get something. You should not be worried about the results. It's your duty, don't do it for others or for any benefits. Just do it only because it’s your duty. At the same time you shouldn't think about the output. Try to be the same in joys and sorrows. If you see any sorry picture from different perspectives, you'll ultimately find a joy in it. In Shakespeare's words, "Nothing is good or bad, thinking makes it so". That’s what is written so many times in our mythological epics. Trust me it's not easy to experience these feelings. It's hard to feel this strange power of total innerness (that raised one more question, what is success, whether it exists or not? but to make the things smooth - take the simple lexicon oriented meaning of success) and a long road is ahead. Meditation techniques can be a nice helping toolkit to achieve this state, but it's not always true. I used to and still like worships in form of prayers. At the same time I also try to find the “sva” contained in me. For what purpose? There is not any. Depending upon the personal feelings, a person can follow any path as the goal is same. Fluctuations and distractions will always be there, after all we are human beings; but realization should be there.

Another term “Absolute unselfishness” (Param Niswarth) is simple in meaning, but it’s near to impossible to implement. If you are giving something to a beggar, you’ll think that “Chalo aaj ek Punya ka kam to kiya”. If you are praying in Mandir, you’ll think “Bhagwan ki Kripa bani rahe ham par”. If not all these, you are certainly bound to do something for your family members or familiars. If parents give shelter and love to their children, they do it because it’s their duty or love. But here also a kind of selfishness is attached. So many simple things we do, purposefully or ignorantly, almost always involve a bit of selfishness. I can’t give a right solution to prevent this feeling, but it will disappear once we attend all the traits of “SatoGun”. Hard enough to attend those.

Enough for the day. I have left so many unanswered questions. Probably these words have lost the intensity within me with time after seeing more and more of real world. There is only hope that whatever is written would help to open a new world or to look at it in a different way.

- Neeraj Mathpal
April 29, 2008

Swami ji

Today after a long time, I thought of swami ji (Vivekananda). I felt like crying with happiness in front of him for few seconds. I felt like going back to basics. I always used to say "solitude and silence is must for introspection". But probably it's been sometime I've not done that. But here I was again trying to solve some intricacies of life, so I felt like dedicating one chapter here to swami ji. I do have some translated poems of swami ji written in my diary. I'm not going to write anything else here; just copying two of them. Forgive me if it's violation of any copyright; they are there in my heart; they are there in my soul. My ignorance don't realize it always, but roots can not be changed. Here are some of his nice poems. In case you read them, enjoy them and try to read in between the lines.

*****************
प्रकाश
*****************

मैं पीछे मुड़कर देखता हूँ
और आगे भी,
और देखता हूँ कि सब ठीक है।
मेरी गहरी से गहरी व्यथाओं में
प्रकाश की आत्मा का निवास है।

***************************************
धैर्य धरो हे वीर हृदय
***************************************

भले ही तुम्हारा सूर्य बादलों से ढक जाय,
आकाश उदास दिखाई दे,
फ़िर भी धैर्य धरो कुछ हे वीर हृदय,
तुम्हारी विजय अवश्यम्भावी है।

शीत के पहले ही ग्रीष्म आ गया,
लहर का दबाव ही उसे उभारता है,
धूप - छाँव का खेल चलने दो
और अटल रहो, वीर बनो !

जीवन में कर्त्तव्य कठोर हैं,
सुखों के पंख लग गए हैं,
मंजिल दूर धुंधली सी झिलमिलाती है,
फ़िर भी अन्धकार को चीरते हुए बढ जाओ,
अपनी पूरी शक्ति और सामर्थ्य के साथ!

कोई कृति खो नहीं सकती और
न कोई संघर्ष व्यर्थ जाएगा,
भले ही आशाएं क्षीण हो जायें
और शक्तियाँ जवाब दे दें,
हे वीरात्मन, तुम्हारे उत्तराधिकारी
अवश्य जन्मेंगे
और कोई सत्कर्म निष्फल न होगा!

यद्यपि भले और ज्ञानवान कम ही मिलेंगे,
किंतु जीवन की बागडोर उन्हीं के हाथों में होगी,
यह भीड़ सही बातें देर से समझती है,
तो भी चिंता न करो, मार्ग प्रदर्शन करते जाओ।

तुम्हारा साथ वे देंगे, जो दूरदर्शी हैं,
तुम्हारे साथ शक्तियों का स्वामी है,
आशीषों की वर्षा होगी तुम पर,
ओ महात्मन,
तुम्हारा सर्वमंगल हो।

********************************************

There are many more, but I should stop for now. I believe, if you read these poems, it will give you strength. God bless.

- Neeraj Mathpal
April 5, 2008

Spring

With the spring arriving with full colors, nature seems to coming back to life. Although there is inherent beauty in nature after fall season, but nothing seems to be more beautiful than these new leaves and flowers of spring. Many poets have written a lot about spring. So I thought of googling a bit and refresh memories of spring with these nice poems.

Kalidasa's famous RITUSAMHARAN (the gathering of seasons) has six cantos (written in Sanskrit), in which he writes about 6 seasons. Here is the translated abstract for Spring.

..
..
Sprays of full blown mango blossoms – his sharp arrows,
honey-bees in rows- the humming bowstring;
warrior-Spring set to break the hearts
of Love’s devotees, is now approaching, my love.
..
..

Glancing at the amarnath’s blossoming sprays
glowing in exquisite loveliness, just-revealed,
-loveliness that rightly belongs to the beloved’s face-
how can a sensitive heart not flutter in panic
stung by proud Love’s flying arrows, my love?
..
..

Lost already to beautiful girls,
are not young men’s hearts pounded to bits
by Kimsuke blossoms bright as parrots’ beaks?
Are they not already burnt
by the golden champa’s brilliant blooms?
And now, the cuckoo with its honey-sweet notes
sounds their death knell.
..
..
- This translation of verses is taken from Penguin classics : "Kalidasa - The Loom of Time" By Chandra Rajan.

***********************

...
...
I heard a thousand blended notes,
While in a grove I sate reclined,
In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts
Bring sad thoughts to the mind.

To her fair works did Nature link
The human soul that through me ran;
And much it grieved my heart to think
What man has made of man.
...
...

- William Wordsworth (1798)

**************************
...
...
When daisies pied, and violets blue,
And lady-smocks all silver-white,
And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue
Do paint the meadows with delight,
The cuckoo then, on every tree,
Mocks married men, for thus sings he:
“Cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cuckoo!” O word of fear,
Unpleasing to a married ear.
...
...

- William Shakespeare (1598) Song from Act V, Scene 2 of Love's Labors Lost

***************************

In India, spring is known as "Basant Ritu", the Ritu-Raj - King of all six seasons. Kites start flying in the sky, children playing with lots of energy and a festival to welcome all this - "Basant Panchami", which comes with yellow color at it's best to spread the joy. I am not able to paste one of them here because of copyright act, but you can see a nice poem here - http://www.anubhuti-hindi.org/dishantar/s/sumanghei/kaisivasant.htm

To quote a great Urdu poet, Mirza Ghalib,

The Spring came with such abandon
That the sun and the moon became mere spectators.

****************************
We are grateful to be descendants of these great poets. I hope one fine day, I'll also try my hand to write a poem about Spring. Our sincere thanks to the great poets / writers and following Web Sources :

http://www.geocities.com
http://poetry.about.com
http://www.anubhuti-hindi.org
http://indiasaijikiworlkhaiku.blogspot.com

And last, but not the least, three cheers for great search engine http://www.google.com ]

- Neeraj Mathpal
March 20, 2008

Do you care?

Ah, I know even before starting, this can be controversial and will lead to separation of opinions, but I have no intention of starting a debate here. I was impressed with views of Michael Crichton on global warming. His fiction "state of fear" clearly suggests no effects of global warming on life. Moreover, he refuses the concept as "unknowns are unknowns". I won't go into details of this. If you really want to go through a number of graphics and manipulated data, help yourself with "state of fear" from a book shop. Remember, it is a fiction, which gives an impression of scientific authority.

This leads me to one more question about extinction of rare animals, to be specific extinction of "Tiger". What if I say I don't care. What if I say that I don't care if I'll never ever see great Indian Tiger in my life again. Should I care? Do I care? What if I say that in another 20 years there will be no tigers. Do I care? Of the 8 species, there are only 5 left. Why should not I care? But am I the right person to care about them? With approximately 2000 tigers remaining, we are about to loose this magnificent species. We say, once upon a time, there was one Dinosaur era. What is the problem in saying in future that once upon a time, there used to be a great animal named tiger. These wild life organizations like WWF ( http://www.worldwildlife.org ) are doing their job, hats off to them. There are laws made by governments, hats off to them. But it's only about delaying the inevitable. Delay it as much as we can. But do I care if it happens today or tomorrow?

Yes, this question created some confusion, I'm not sure about. That was a cruel joke to not care about anything. Are we human, if we don't care about our surroundings, if we don't care about our forests? Being a nature lover, and specially a jungle lover, I should have said, I do care for it. But again in reality, I don't. Did I try to save some of the trees? Answer is no, so do I have any moral right to say, "Jungle bachao, Duniya bachao" (save forests, save world). No.
But in fact, it matters. Though actions are louder than talks, but awareness has a strong history of making miracles happen.

Now, what about the evolution? if we are loosing something, we are gaining as well. There are new species arriving almost everyday. Who can stop this evolution. Are we? We ourselves, the human beings, will be human beings after 10000 years? Who knows, tell me why should we have helix, antihelix, lobule and crest of helix, the outer parts of ear? Are they worth? No, we don't need them. They are just hanging there for no reason. Reason will prevail. These outer ears will disappear. That time dimension is definitely waiting somewhere for us. So, is loosing some spices not part of evolution? Is loosing trees also not part of evolution?

These developed countries are making too much noise about global warming, species, water and blah blah. But if they lost something for good, how does it matter? If, now, they are seeking some kind of redemption, why should developing countries help them. They also have to try for better infrastructure, better facilities. For that, obviously, they will have to loose something, some of their forests. May be with proper planning, we can reduce adverse affects, but the future is always about rising, whatever it takes. Human races will develop automatically, they will know to adjust with changing environments. With brains getting powerful, rest of the body will have to take the declining curve with open hands. There is hardly any choice in that.

I do love this greenery. I do love a sight of tigers. I do love earth. I would love to help in having more and more trees, but I don't care if we loose something for better. Do you?


- Neeraj Mathpal
March 18, 2008

Create The Magic

(for children)

It was a bright sunny day. Prabha was thinking of creating some magic. Magic! Not the one which is often termed as a mystical or supernatural practice, but the one which works like a soothing balm. After non-stop efforts of one hour, she landed up in a paradise of pens. Yes, you read it right – a paradise of pens.

Her little experience says that the power of pen is enormous. She didn’t know what really works behind it, but there’s something magical about it. She has tried umpteen times to know about that undercurrent, but always returned with empty hands. Pens have been her best friends since the day she started writing alphabets. She always felt happy in their company.

Now here she is... standing among the pens in their paradise. Who said that pen is a non living thing. Here they are… dancing like a group of ten year old kids. She thought that she is flying in a dream world and trying to personify the surroundings.

Then came the real moment, one small pen came to her and said in her sweet voice, “Hello Prabha! I’m your best friend. You’ve been using me for last two years. I know that you are in a puzzled state. Tell me about your problem?”

Prabha told her that she is not able to understand the hidden magic in these tiny pens.

Understanding her problem, pen replied, “As knife is a tool to cut vegetables, as telephone is a tool to communicate, similarly pen is a tool to write about different things and ideas on a paper. Pen in itself is not magical. The real magic behind it is the brain. You must learn how to write and how to read. So, to utilize the magical powers of brain, education is required. Although brain can take care of many things at a time, but you need to provide it some help in the form of writings. Thinking is the most important function of brain, but it also requires help from books. So to keep your magical powers intact, you need to feed your brain. All your questions and answers are just brain games, so try to play them well. We, the pens, will always be there to assist you in playing these games. So my friend Prabha! Cheer up and smile now. One day we’ll create the magic”.

Prabha smiled and came back happily from the paradise of pens. A book, lying on Prabha’s table, heard this nice little talk and it started thinking about one famous saying, “Minds are like parachutes. They only function when they are open”.


- Neeraj Mathpal
May 7, 2007