Ākāśāt Patitaṃ: Many Forms, One Reality

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Adi Shankara: The image that's stayed with me forever Sanskrit and shlokas have always fascinated me. The sheer vastness of Sanskrit literature is humbling. There are enough verses, texts, commentaries and traditions to occupy many lifetimes, and still leave one feeling that one has barely scratched the surface. But I didn't think much about any of this when I was growing up. I would recite shlokas in the morning and evening without fail. They were simply part of life. The words were there, the rituals were there, the temples were there—but much of it happened in the background. I was busy with academics. There was no time for Sanskrit or Vedanta. At least, that is what I used to tell myself. Of course, time was never really the problem. I could spend five days watching a Test match from morning to evening and somehow consider that perfectly legitimate use of my time! The truth was simpler: Sanskrit and Vedanta had not yet become priorities. Gr...
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Mandal II

The medical students have really taken the attack to the government. The quota issue has launched a scathing tirade from the student community, particularly from the medical fraternity. They have organized widespread protests in India, expressing their displeasure against the proposed quota system. This begs us to raise this question - What are people from the other sectors doing? Where are the Engineers, arts, science, commerce and economics graduates, literateurs, botanists, researchers, mathematicians, statisticians, socialists, historicans, physicists, chemists and others doing? Why don't we see much from the other sector of the educationists apart from the medicos? It doesn't make much sense for only one group to be fighting it out while the others are relaxing and waiting for things to happen. Things can never happen, and the "waiting" will definitely be extended to eternity.

I think Arjun Singh has made a mess of a move by bringing out the reservation policy. He has brought considerable damage to the Congress party. I am not sure how our honourable Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh is watching all these atrocities happening in front of his eyes. There are times, when the leader of the country has to take tough decisions, and Dr. Manmohan Singh is doing no good by just allowing things to take its course. Being a hardline reformer he should have nipped the issue at the bud. Arjun Singh talks as though he is the champion of the backward masses and their cause. What he doesn't realise is that this issue is going to pulverize the Congress party helter skelter. I still remember when the BJP was interfering with the IITs and IIMs, people did not take it lightly. Now, Arjun Singh has kindled the entirel education sector and the Congress can definitely not harbour hopes of coming back to power with plans of introducing such an outrageous policy. Everybody knows it is a political gimmick, but the Congress will realise that during the next elections. The whole country is feeling let down with the way the government has handled this issue. It remains to be seen what happens from now on. The country is witnessing a spate of protests from different parts and it is only going to intensify as time goes on. No sane person is going to swallow this easily, and there is no doubt that in the next few days, we will witness more of such protests. This certainly is one of the darkest periods of Indian history, with MANDAL II in the offing.

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