Writings

The Authentic Web..

2011-10-16T09:13:00.000+05:30

One day, after we have established the logic and design of the Semantic Web, it may be passe to talk about logos, favicons and why mis-representing information is always a bad idea.

I probably visit a dozen or more new websites every day. Not all of them care about logos, favicons and the authenticity of the images. And the ones that do, have some kind of "presence" that seems to attract attention.

I think these logos are great!! :-)

So what does the logo really represent and why is it important?

It establishes identity
It creates brand loyalty
It reflects the organization's culture
It ensures an authentic experience

There is one more aspect that may be a little hard to grasp.

The logo is a symbol of the soul of an organization.. and hence it takes a certain amount of time to mature and come into being.

We are still in the infancy of our understanding of symbols, which is why.. UNTIL we understand this, September & October will make perfect sense.. The fatal flaw will be revealed when we learn to see that..

Space
Time
Being

and

Intelligence
Compassion
Awareness

or Thinking - Feeling - Knowing are a Unity.

Once we break-down to the limits, things start falling into place.

I am awed to see that code CAN be poetry.. and a three-way conference call between Toronto, London and Bangalore (I just spoke to my wife and brother through Skype) can lead to realization!!!

Time is Art..

2010-10-16T00:00:00.007+05:30

Internet has enabled every Tom, Julie and Hurry to post words, pictures and videos as if they know it all. I remain a skeptic because it is easy to duck the most difficult questions and dazzle an ignorant crowd whose hormones are out of control.

So, What is Time?

If you leafed through Stephen Hawking's, A Brief History of Time and Space, you would end up more confused. Among the random strangers that I asked, the best answer that I got was from an energetic guy from Manipur who struggles to make ends meet in Shillong in India. He remembered an old Hindi movie in which the character described "samay" as two movements around one center. The important thing is to know that time is both past AND future. So, if you know something about the past, you should have some idea about the future as well!

Exploring the question, What is Time landed me some great clues, clues that enabled me to formulate two more important questions. Is your Name REALLY You? and.. What is Your Passion?

Here is an interesting perspective on Time so far..

* * * * * * * * *

Consider the saying.. “Time is Money..”

If you live in an urban space where the rhythms of your life is determined largely by the clock and the calendar, you may find it hard to think otherwise.

Having experienced natural time while growing up in East Khasi Hills in India, I now realize that the lifestyle of the indegenous people is crucial to the health and harmony of the bio-sphere because they do not experience time the way “educated” people do.

Human beings are now ready to understand the dynamics of time and its relationship with all forms of life.

Before the Gregorian calendar was put into place, human beings were more or less synchronized with the rhythms of natural time. Even if there was no electricity, our ancestors knew many more things about life that ensured a certain harmony and balance.

The history of all religions is bloody for one simple reason. In the early days, there was little difference between the state and the priesthood. Those who were genuinely spiritual, lived quietly, un-noticed by the ruling powers and when they passed on, their words and life were used as propaganda and thus today, there is some kind of paranoia around the superficial differences among human beings as religions, tribes and nations.

What is HU-man? We don't seem to really know..!!

The cultural variation of human society is based on archetypal patterns which are connected to nature. The origins of the word “Calendar” are Roman and Catholic which was devised as a means of calculating the time when debts were collected. The essential meaning of this instrument is actually a matrix or mental construct that is supposed to accurately guide us in our estimation of time and what it means to be in the present.

It is much more important to understand what is really present (or “presence”) and what is “now” and in this context, a Radial Matrix of Time would look something like this..

Before you can understand this diagram, (and we are still in the kindergarten of understanding the language of symbols) it will be necessary to become familiar with the idea that..

A calendar is a programming device - it programs the society or culture that uses it in all of its daily, weekly, monthly and annual customs and habits.

Hence, the so called global society that we live in, is not really global in the sense that one particular idealogy of time has been imposed on the rest of the world, pretty much by force. The result is available for you to see 24/7 on BBC and CNN.

:-)

Home

2009-12-28T11:05:00.000+05:30

A home is a place where one is accepted, just the way one is - good, bad and everything in between. Strangely enough, when you are with another human being who is culturally different, he or she may not always understand the nuances of being in a place where one does not seem to belong.

When we were in Shillong, we were living in a place surrounded by people who spoke a different language. While in Toronto, the outside world was not the same as the ethos in my living quarters. There was a conflict that was based on unfair notions of Islamic terrorism. And here in Bangalore, or Bengaluru, to be precise, I am often lost and staring.. listening to people speak a language that is still a stranger to me.

Where is OUR Home?

Life's like that..

2008-10-13T21:50:00.000+05:30

For me, Blogging and Web Design is an art-form. Art, hmm.. where is the art in a machine?!? Well, this is what Robert M. Pirsig says in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance..

"The Buddha, the godhead, resides quite as comfortably in the circuits of a digital computer or the gears of a cycle transmission as he does at the top of a mountain or in the petals of a flower. To think otherwise is to demean the Buddha - which is to demean oneself."

The limitation of the human mind puts a positive or negative spin on things. The following pictures (frozen moments from my recent experiences) speak for themselves.

My cousin squeezes the water from his shirt when the rains flooded the house.. while his sweet wife stands by for further instructions.

the magic of life.

2008-07-29T14:13:00.000+05:30

Puducherry, Magnetic Moon 2008

No, I did not hesitate to enter this humble place I call home now.

"Thirty spokes will converge
In the hub of a wheel;
But the use of the cart
Will depend on the part
Of the hub that is void.

With a wall all around
A clay bowl is molded;
But the use of the bowl
Will depend on the part
Of the bowl that is void.

Cut out windows and doors
In the house as you build;
But the use of the house
Will depend on the space
In the walls that is void.

So advantage is had
From whatever is there;
But usefulness rises
From whatever is not. "

Of Radio, the Tao and Lotus Country..

2008-07-01T11:22:00.000+05:30

Toronto, Cosmic Moon 5
Phew! Its been a long time I transcribed the frenzied neural activity going on. YYEEEEAH! I can't seem to capture the impressions while plugged into FM Radio.. what I love about Radio is the randomness of a familiar song. I just heard "Tears in Heaven" :-) but when these commercials come in.. and whatt?? here is a kid's voice.. oh no! do I have to listen to marketplace suggestions from tender voices of innocence? :-(

I am excited about returning to Lotus country again.. I am kinda feeling like Simba in The Lion King.. in the part when Rafiki says.. "the King, has returned!"

"When a man is living, he is soft and supple.
When he is dead, he becomes hard and rigid.
When a plant is living, it is soft and tender.
When it is dead, it becomes withered and dry.
Hence, the hard and rigid belongs to the company of the dead,
the soft and supple belongs to the company of the living.
Therefore, a mighty army tends to fall by its own weight,
Just as dry wood is ready for the axe.
The mighty and great will be laid low;
The humble and weak will be exalted."
~ Tao Te Ching

The Psycho - Spiritual Process

2008-04-25T08:31:00.001+05:30

The Internet as "Noosphere"

2008-04-25T08:16:00.000+05:30

When I first started learning HTML in 1999, we were taught that the Internet was a network of networks, mostly amalgamated from a complex combination of hardware that came in the form of servers, storage disks, communication cables and protocols. World Wide Web was more like “world wide wait” that tested one’s patience for agonizing hours at crowded cyber-cafes waiting for an eternity for the browser to load the page that contained the next piece of heart stopping information coming from the other side of the globe.

I remember being so excited at my first Hotmail account that I created in a trendy parlor that was the first one in my city. Utopia at last, supported by a digital revolution. This is STILL the trend that is catching on in non-descript towns like the one where a cousin of mine runs a cyber-cafe. Of course, the kind of stuff they like to see inside their “cabins” is another story!

In just a little more than a decade, the world has become wired. Perhaps we were not ready. Perhaps the inter-connected ness is still a surprise to many. My mom does not read English and hasn’t YET seen an Internet page, but when I first had a computer, she was savvy enough to ask if my sisters had sent an e-mail! These days, I am trying to ask my cousin to get a webcam so she can see my face and deal better with her anxiety of my welfare.

It was just recently, and now that information on a screen is more or less granted that one can try connecting the dots and see the development of Internet as an evolutionary phenomenon. Something that never ceases to amaze me as I discover more and more innovative that seems to give expression to the hunger of unity in the species, lending credence to the perspective from quantum physics’ idea that the world is actually a gigantic thought. Yes, but in whose mind?

Google to the rescue! Here is an excerpt from matrixmasters.com :

“In 1938, a Jesuit priest wrote a book in which he postulated the existence of "a sphere of thought" enveloping the Earth. This book, The Phenomenon of Man, wasn't published until the late 1950s, after its author, Teilhard de Chardin, had died. In it, he called this enveloping sphere of thought the noosphere and described it as "a living tissue of consciousness" enclosing the Earth and growing ever more dense.”

“Teilhard believed that because of the spherical shape of the Earth, ideas will eventually encounter other ideas resulting in a cultural convergence of thought. This, he believed, would eventually lead to a single, self-developing framework of pure mind. Teilhard used the term "noosphere" (possibly first coined by Vladimir Vernadsky to represent a sphere of mind encircling the Earth. As he saw it, the noosphere encased what we call the biosphere, or sphere of life.”

And a similar point of view from Ruth Ginger Snapper’s Language of the Noosphere (http://www.nyu.edu/classes/keefer/com/snap1.html)

“Is the web merely a form of entertainment to be used as an escape from the reality of everyday life or can it become the means by which we change society and everyday reality? Is there some way that this endless need to escape into the dark realm can have a positive spin on it so that people can be free from their demons and be able to evolve a sense of higher consciousness that Teilhard de Chardin was envisioning? With so many issues in the world to confront, and so many people, plants and animals in need of help, is society best served by people spending hours fighting imaginary battles when the real battles continue to remain unfought? Is this the best the noosphere can aspire to?”

“Looking at the internet as a living organism, such as a rose, an analogy can be made towards the fulfillment of the noosphere as envisioned by Teilhard de Chardin. Surely the development of the noosphere must need input and nourishment in order to grow and propagate. But will sunlight (servers) be enough? Will water (e-commerce) enable new growth to take place? Will an aspirin in the water (government regulation) be enough to stem the tide of moral decay and cyberterrorism?”

“Connection between the soil and the rose is key for development of the rose and a key factor in the fulfillment of the noosphere. Stretching this connection a bit further, perhaps much of the content of today¹s internet, brimming with chat, pornography, e-commerce and MUDs, provides the noosphere with important nourishment in the form of fertilizer. All of this content, varied and unstructured, possibly meaningless to many, will eventually be used in the global collective brain as nutrient food for fostering ideas and allowing further development of the internet and global evolution of it in the future. Ideas have always been the powerhouse of humankind, what separates man from the animals. Free thinking and exchange of ideas enables the processing of those ideas to continue and the internet is a perfect compost heap for this to take place. No other medium has thus far been able to contain so many varieties of human endeavor contained within the same structure. From literature to art and music, to science and sociology, all are contained within the realm of cyberspace.”

Only time will tell, but if this were to be true then Project ONEderland will someday figure in the list returned by some search engine gizmo and profile the way a digital media wisecrack took a potshot at re-defining the human belief system. But by then, we would probably have discovered many other ways of transcending time and space.

A Global Noospheric Hologram

2008-02-08T01:19:00.000+05:30

Project ONEderland is about launching and activating a Global Noospheric Hologram where Belief systems are integrated with the idea (It is a scientific fact but understood only on quantum levels) that living systems act from a singlularity of thought, feeling and intuition. The challenge lies in having a correct thought because at the level of feeling and intuition, unity is self - evident.

Any creative act requires the collaboration of Intelligence, Compassion and Awareness energies. Awareness has Time factored into the equation, as the same thought/act may not be valid at all times.

"Noosphere" is the connected field of individual Human minds which are yet to act in unison although there is a clear evidence of the need to move in that direction. A perfect example is the following song..

"Hologram" is nothing but the imprint of all our thoughts (past, present and future or sub-conscious, conscious and superconscious) that influence what we experience in Life. We carry it along with us wherever we go and whomever we interact with, so the idea is to align the individual hologram with the collective one, such that we are able to reconcile the holograms that are in conflict and arrive at the whole one which is the beautiful planet in which we live...

The Integrated Lifestyle

2008-01-13T02:18:00.000+05:30

One of the most important thing that is right before our eyes is the challenge of integration in our lives. Gone are the days when one could leave one's spirituality in a temple or a silent corner of life. This is the time when we are required to be CONSCIOUS at EVERY moment and choose to co-create our own reality. There is no other way.

How will you Live?

2007-10-06T21:13:00.000+05:30

Last week I had the opportunity to attend two talks, both significant in terms of the changes taking place in the social and technological landscape.

Deena Metzger (Author : From grief into Vision) talked about our connection to the natural world and its message to realise our potential for harmony, and the next day Bill Buxton (Sr. Researcher, Microsoft) raised some interesting questions about the human aspects of technology.

Deena's talk was preceded by an interesting musical event synchronised by Larry Nusbaum. Larry played a tribal drum and asked everybody to pick up an instrument from his box containing "weapons of mass percussion," as he called it. Slowly everybody joined in to a growing crescendo of an amazing music. Everybody singing their own little piece and yet there was a symphony which happened completely on its own!

That, I believe is what is taking place in the overall scheme of things. We are all picking up the nuances of using technology and finding our own community which echo our ideals. There is no blueprint of a perfect civilization and there never will be.. but as we experiment and improvise, learning new tricks and finding new friends, we will co-create a life that may reflect our cherished visions beyond belief.

This one is for Amit, the true Indian Idol 3

2007-09-24T06:27:00.000+05:30

Like many other Shillong-ites perhaps, I too longed for Amit to win because he is really talented and I got to see that on You Tube.. (funny, that ALL Indian Idol videos have been removed for terms of use violation JUST TODAY!!)

But.. Prashant took away the crown because (like most things in India in circa, 2007 CE) the Indian masses, swayed by emotion, simply do not believe in giving credit to the deserving. The issue was obviously NOT about seeing one of them win but the credibility of the show itself. Canadian Idol or American Idol are merely a whimper in N.America but Indian Idol is beginning to look ridiculous.

One thing that I observe with amusement is how Amit's popularity is adding to Shillong's identity as a modern Indian society where diversity is celebrated.

Assam Tribune reported this...

Videos Here..

Time to Plug in...

2007-09-16T08:43:00.000+05:30

While media raves and rants about all the things that are happening, we will increasingly have the choice to decide what is newsworthy.

Oh! What a relief!!

But.. what about those who do not have the necessary bandwidth? Or those who simply swim on what is on offer online but are wary of participating in the interactive party?

I just happened to bump into Blogger Play today.. which is like a movie of images being uploaded to Blogger right Now! The result is very interesting!!

And this is the way my desktop screen looks at present...

India Trip

2007-08-11T12:19:00.000+05:30

Whew! What a trip!!!
Metro in Delhi is a breeze.. the trains are squeaky clean and better than TTC as you can go from one compartment to another.

Mumbai was a different story..

Meeting Anirvan in Kolkata for a Hilsa fish dinner was a treat!

Sidiq's wedding in Shillong was another delicious event

And finally just before departing for Toronto, getting a Rakhee from Sakuda's wife.

Ah Bliss!!

2012 - the reckoning..

2007-07-17T10:21:00.001+05:30

WHAT WILL HAPPEN in 2012?

Where will I be? What will my Life look like?

Looking through the windows of Tikka Tikka on Markham Rd... imagining events in the forthcoming trip to India..

I may possibly change my name to ZAFAR SATYAVAN officially.

Watch this Video!!!

MAD-ness..

2007-05-06T07:45:00.000+05:30

Are you MAD??

No, I am just Making A Difference!!

The past few weeks.. with accelerating time.. I found myself making radical changes but within. And that is the only way, any REAL change is made, right?

At the same time, synchronised with my unfolding awareness, last night I discovered Dropping Knowledge and the Potsdam Manifesto of Albert Einstein and Bertrand Russel.

"We have to learn to think in a new way.."

And here I am.. enjoying the spring sun under a Canadian sky.

Yup.. trying to figure out, as you can see.. what is so Canadian about it..

Changes..

2006-11-13T04:57:00.001+05:30

To look outside yourself
.. for recognition and acceptance
.. for a master or teacher ...
.. for a saviour ...
.. for another to be your authority ...
is to deny the existence of your Transpersonal nature.

We always have a choice. To take BOLD decisions in the face of calamity in order to uproot all the sub-conscious programs and face the Inner Sun.. because a life of enlightened awareness is ours for the asking.

22 Dec > The last few days were spent thinking about the many labyrinthine turns that Life has taken to bring me here. I have had enough of following the unconscious agenda of survival, of living only to eat and sleep, dreaming only of better food and more comfortable beds to sleep on. There is a deeper purpose to our lives, that we must find.. and if we do not search, we will miss this opportunity forever.

It is about a choice that I will make.. in due course of time. A choice that will take me away from all my familiar folks.. a choice that I cannot even explain but it is connected to the excruciating transition that humanity is going through.. in order to reach a different order of Being.. a Global Human matrix, a different character and lifestyle. A time to question one's beliefs and give up those that do not seem to serve our needs and instead give expression to what we really seem to want.. A clearer awareness, light-hearted and free.. creative and fresh, full with laughter and love...

“Our early approaches to the Infinite
Are sunrise splendours on a marvellous verge
While lingers yet unseen the glorious sun.
What now we see is a shadow of what must come.
The earth's uplook to a remote Unknown
Is a preface only of the epic climb
Of human soul from its flat earthly state
To the discovery of a greater self
And the far gleam of an eternal Light.” – Savitri

Life in Toronto...

2006-10-14T07:05:00.000+05:30

Toronto has its share of homeless.. I wonder how anyone can survive the ice-cold winds on a pavement...

.. and this reminded me of Bangalore..

Steven did a Rune reading and told me I am in for a Radical Discontinuity.. at the Religious Reconstructionist Meet Up last Sunday...

An experience in Toronto

2006-09-17T00:15:00.000+05:30

He is struggling with his English but his nature is humorously kind. We interacted in a workshop to help newcomers with finding employment and in one lunch break, he demonstrated the use of chopsticks which I did not find as difficult as I had thought.

The other day, we had to catch the streetcar to take us to the subway and then the bus ride back home, hence the opportunity for conversation, which he capitalised as an opportunity to improve his English.

And then he surprised me with his rendition of a song from an Indian movie while cupping his hands lest the co-passengers be disturbed. We were climbing the stairs from the subway and crossed a musician playing on his Accordion. Just as we were near the landing, Bo Lu pulled my hand and took me near the musician. Listen! He said.. and WHOA!! The man with the accordian was playing the EXACT tune he had demonstrated to me in the train!! We agreed that he was probably a Russian because the movie in question, Awaraa had been a hit in that country, shall we say, long ago?

A motley group of immigrant Caterpillars trying to find a place among Canadian butterflies.. an Argentinian counsellor equipped with a great smile and impeccably politically correct manners, explaining the nuances of working in Canada to an impetuous Chinese or a restrained Russian and a shy Iranian. It was amazing to witness the multi-dimensional discussions that took place with fairly simple issues.

Two day care workers taking the kids for a walk in the rain...

Where the Dream takes you...

2006-08-24T21:29:00.000+05:30

I was on my way to Kamakhya Temple near Guwahati. The temple in question is anything but holy. It is like a shop with lots of paraphernalia you'd never need. So it was ironic that this boy, who ushered me into the cab caught my attention. Our worlds collided when I took this photo... he was happy to be captured in film, while hanging out of the cab door, riding the wind.. I have tried to express this in a video I made which is available on The Creative Tree.. but the more we are able to do things with technology, the further apart we are going in terms of experiencing the joy of a geniune human contact. We have thousands of websites that offer us the ability to communicate with people... but where is the REAL communication??

Where is Home?

2006-08-03T07:40:00.001+05:30

Remember the scene from E.T. where ET used to say "..home..home..home??"

Now that I live far away from what was home to me, I am wondering where is our real home? I think, in the 21st C it is where you meet the people you love, where you are accepted the way you are and so on.

SO, that means it is time to re-define HOME.

What do YOU say??