Tools to Embedded -

Today onwards I am being given another job at my office. I have to look into the embedded code also. This is a total phase shift for my kind of people. I have a background of working and creating applications. I work at the highest level in the machine hierarchy. From today onwards I have to look into the world at the lowest ladder.

This world is the starting step for all the things to work. Here while coding we have to keep into mind even 1 byte of memory, we can’t waste that greatly. It was heaven while coding for the applications. The environment takes care of the memory management. The developer does not think twice about memory wastage, just keep on finishing the job assigned.

I was in a dilemma, as to should I go ahead or blatantly refuse to work on it. I was weighing the pros and cons of the action I take.
Pros:

• An un-chartered territory to be explored (60%)
• A possible chance to get into limelight of peers and superiors
• To prove that “I CAN DO IT”
• Added feature in resume

Cons:

• Performance & work pressure
• Scared of the unknown
• “CAN I DO IT”

The urge to get into something others don’t want to or to prove myself was more and so its the pros who win and I am into it. I am getting into the look and feel of it. Let’s see how the things appear at the bottom.

In the meantime I also resolved an application problem for one of my close friend. He had gone for some volunteering work in some deep village in Orissa. He was acting as a translator basically, but a knowledgeable translator. We are friends from years and these kind of deeds help strengthen the bond. He and his team were gratified for the opportune help I provided. It helps a lot to all. We get a chance to get in touch with different people and get to face more different kinds of problems. It adds to our knowledge and helps to improve your credibility.

I too have the urge to do some volunteer work for the benefit of the country as my friend has done.

Love needs no proof - Sri Sri 14th Jan '94

Sri Sri Ravishankar (Guruji) was discussing the Narad Bhakti Sutra's. Following is just a small preview of the extent of the knowledge present in the Sutra's. You too can get to understand the Sutra's, just get onto the wagon, join Art Of Living for the enlightenment.

Devotion is the simplest and easiest among all practices. The path of devotion. Three types of devotion - Satvic, rajasic and tamasic. Three type of divine love. With or without some desire behind it. Whenever there is love ,then behind that love there could be some desire. And there need not be also. But the love without any desire behind it is much superior, is greater. Tamasic, rajasic and satvic love. Satavic love is greater than the rajasic and tamasic love.
As said before the love of a terrorist is also love. He loves something. That's why he is a terrorist. He is ready to give up his life. Isn't it? He loves something. He has some ideology. He is ready to put his life to it. Without love he cannot do that. Love is the main driving force behind it. But it is Tamasic love, Rajasic love. Satavic love is superior.
Then the next sutra that says "Anya smad soulabhyam bhakta ".It is easier compared to other paths. Love itself being the path for love is easier. Anyway that is fruit of all other actions, all other attainments. Whether you want to go through the path of knowledge or action or yoga or service, the attainment or you aim at divine love only. "Anya smad soulabhyam bhakta". This is simpler and easier. Remember, whatever is very simple and easy, that itself is very difficult and complicated too. The simplest things are the most difficult things to do. But yet here Narada emphasizes, this is simpler. Is why says, this does not need any other proof.
The next sutra goes "Prmanantarasya anapekshitvat, swayam pramanantvat".Because it is a proof by itself. You don't need any other proof for your advancement. If you see, how you have grown in your love, you don't need to go and ask anybody how is my progress? Have I progressed or not? If you are welling up in gratitude, you don't have to go and ask anybody, have I improved in my life? That itself is the proof. If you are dissolving, every cell of your body is vibrant with surrender, with devotion, even if the whole world stays on the other side and says you have not evolved, you will simply smile at them.
That is what has happened with all the prophets, that is what has happened with Jesus. Everyone wanted him to give a proof that he is the son of man .He simply kept silent. He never said a word. Because it's evident. What more? When you know you are the source. You are from that source and you are the source you don't need anyone else to prove or you don't need to prove it to anybody either, "Prmanantarasya anapekshitvat.". No need of any other proof for love. But normally we demand proof. When you love somebody, you ask them "prove me". Indirectly or directly you are demanding for a proof that they really love you. And you just see, all the proofs that you get is really nothing. Do not mean anything. They cannot stand. Is this not the conflict today, in all the relationships, everywhere in love? Because everyone wants the proof that the other person really loves them. And through gestures you cannot have proof. It's not foolproof. all gestures could fool you very easily. So they cannot be a proof for your love. They all can be like airhostess' smile. It's not an authentic- "Goodbye", "Thank You", "Welcome you on the board", "Have a nice day". Have a nice day? Do they really mean it? Have a nice day. Haan, of course though as you all get out they will have a nicer day. Their duty is finished. Job is done.
You are so uncertain about love, because your love has not gone deeper enough in yourself. You have not blossomed in love, in your inner strength. So you demand proof from others too .You demand proof that they love you. This is foolish. Narada says no. Such devotion neither demands proof, nor requires any proof. You need any proof that sun has come out? Is there any other proof needed for sun to be? You need a torch to look at the sun? It's so evident. The love is so evident. Enlightenment is so evident that you do not need any other proof. "Prmanantarasya anapekshitvat, swayam pramanantvat". That itself, love itself is the proof of blossoming. Haan, if you find there is no love, and when one thinks that one is enlightened or one claims to be enlightened then can look sor....(don't know..?) ,you can doubt. Because divine love itself is the proof of blossoming. So that divine love neither demands proof, nor requires proof, because that itself is the proof.

Just five more minutes

While at the park one day, a woman sat down next to a man on a bench near a playground. "That's my son over there," she said, pointing to a little boy in a red sweater who was gliding down the slide. "He's a fine looking boy" the man said. "That's my daughter on the bike in the white dress." Then, looking at his watch, he called to his daughter. "What do you say we go, Melissa?" Melissa pleaded, "Just five more minutes, Dad. Please? Just five more minutes." The man nodded and Melissa continued to ride her bike to her heart's content. Minutes passed and the father stood and called again to his daughter. "Time to go now?" Again Melissa pleaded, "Five more minutes, Dad. Just five more minutes." The man smiled and said, "OK." "My, you certainly are a patient father," the woman responded. The man smiled and then said, "Her older brother Tommy was killed by a drunk driver last year while he was riding his bike near here. I never spent much time with Tommy and now I'd give anything for just five more minutes with him. I've vowed not to make the same mistake with Melissa. She thinks she has five more minutes to ride her bike.

The truth is, I get Five more minutes to watch her play."

Life is all about making priorities, what are your priorities?
Give someone you love 5 more minutes of your time today!

Master is the Door

You are lost on the street. T here is rain, thunder, wind, and cold; you need shelter. You look
around and you find a door. You come to the door because it is more inviting, more charming, more joyful than anything out on the street. When you enter the door of the Master, you
come Home. You see the world from a new perspective. From inside you can still hear the
thunder and see the rain, but it no longer disturbs you. Inside there is warmth and security. The
world looks much more beautiful--not a nasty place, but a place filled with love, cooperation,
compassion. Your fear drops away.

When you can see the whole world through the eyes of the Master, it is a sign that you have
come to the Master; you have entered the door. This is the purpose of having a Master.
If you are still seeing the world as before, then you have not yet come to the Master; you are still
standing out in the street, cold and wet; you are only looking at the door, you have not yet entered in.

Question: What does it mean to “see through the eyes of the Master”?
Just this: Every situation that you face, you are thinking If this situation comes in front
of the Master, how would he handle it? If this complication comes to the Master, how would he take it? If someone blames the Master, what would he do? The key is to feel the Presence of the Master. The Master is the Presence, not a relationship. Relationships can be broken, mended, and broken again. There is craving and aversion in every relationship. This is the wheel of sansara, the misery of the world. All relationships go topsyturvy, whereas the Presence is vast, infinite, stable and centered.

Don’t make the Master a worldly relationship. “Oh, he looked at me.” “He didn’t look at me.”
“Oh, he said this.” “He didn’t say that.” “Somebody else is close; I am not close.” All this garbage comes into it. Just enter the door of the Master and come Home. Only the Presence of the Master will bring fulfillment to your life--and to all your relationships

...Sri Sri

These and many more things are taught at The Art Of Lving. This knowledge of "Presence instead of Relationship" can be applied to all of your problems, and mind it, it does help a lot. There is open messages and open knowledge here. No hidden messages to be deciphered. Everything is just in mind. The way people handle their situations, the way the things are assumed, all these change the effect of the situations on us.

Feeling the presence of a Guru, this is a very ancient Indian teaching, more lately being adapted by some non-Indian teachings also. The logic is simple. The uncouncious mind does connect to your Guru, when you require urgent help and find no other way out. You simply imagine the way your guru will be handling the situation and your problems are settled.

In the more recent additions to this technique it is suggested, that the guru can be assigned for different aspects of your problems. Like have a guru for your love life. Another guru for your office work. Your guru can be anyone. Either living or Dead. Either Younger or Elder. Either Relationship or Stranger. It is upto you to define the guru, and leave the situation in guru's hand. The guru will guide you through....

Bangalore Blast. It was today...

It is Friday (July 25, 2008) today, and it is my turn for the vehicle pooling.

As always I am awake at 6.20 am. Didi is already done with the dishes and about to get ready to prepare the lunch for my nephew, me and her. Jijaji always has his lunch at office itself. She is cooking dal and roti. By 7.45am lunch boxes are ready and didi is about to leave. I am still doing my daily yoga and jijaji is helping my nephew to get ready for school. Today I make my own lunch. I don’t want to take dal for office lunch. I made sweet rice for lunch and planning what all features I can add to an ordinary project for the client. My vehicle partner calls up and says that he just woke up and is getting ready (Pretty usual stuff for him to get up late and get late).

Everything is as usual. No change in the situation. No change in the lives.

We both get onto my bike and start off to our office. Today we are taking the service road towards our office to bypass the usual traffic jam at the junction near our house. We reach our office before time. I start working upon the project. I start doing multi-tasking: I start reading news on my google reader using mozilla firefox. Till then my outlook opens up and I start catching up with my friends using IMO. And before I get to know, it’s already time to lunch at 1pm.

Me and my friends start having our lunch. We are catching up the live action of cricket: India-Sri Lanka Test match. We are speculating what will be the final score Sri Lanka will pose for India to achieve? This is amongst are normal time pass while having lunch. We discuss about lots of things for whiling away the time, totally unaware of what lies ahead in time for the people of Bangalore. For us. For the world. Everyone unaware of the things to happen for the day.

Everything is as usual. No change in the situation. No change in the lives.

We all come back at our seats. Unaware of the welcome mail already present in my mailbox. The mail was:
Urgent Alert, bomb blasts in Bangalore.
Today at 1.30 pm 3 blasts occurred at Mysore Road, Adugodi, and Forum. Employees are requested to stay calm and within the company premises.

It was a mail from my friend, he had forwarded the mail from his office. I thought he was just kidding. I thought this could not happen in Bangalore atleast. I dismissed the mail as a prank. But then immediately there was a pop-up on my web communicator. My colleague just said that something has happened in Bangalore. I immediately opened up the google search page and checked: “Bomb blasts Bangalore”. It didnt gave search result relevant to this. I thought it must be another hoax. Then people started entering my office bay and all were on their mobile phones. Tensed. Perplexed. Astonished. I thought has this really happened?

I asked them “What has happened? Why are you so tensed?” they said “Hey! Don’t you know? There are bomb blasts in Bangalore. Where are you dude?” I suggested lets immediately go to canteen to check the news on the TV. We are going to the canteen, on the way more people are joining us. All of us are thinking what has happened? How big is the explosion? How many have exploded? Till we reached to the canteen, there are two more blasts reported. Within 15 minutes there are more reported blasts within the city.

Everything is as un-usual. Total change in the situation. Many changes in the lives.

This was the first time I was hearing the blasts in the city in which I live. Never had I, before, heard this kind of incident. I was looking at the people’s faces. I felt the fear, anger, amazement and the bag of emotions which I hadn’t imagined. People started receiving calls asking for their wellness. Some people were terrified and angry as their calls were not getting connected to their friends, relatives. Their FAMILY. The networks were jammed to stop the rumor mongerers. The people started analyzing the situation and deducting the person/ organization who could conduct such kind of act. Everyone was immersed in the situation.

8 blasts, 1 death with 8 injured. The blasts were mild blasts using gelatin and some hurting stuff. Today was an unusual day.

I have experienced many cities. All the cities have been calm and quite. This city being IT capital, the Silicon City of Asia, had all the ingredients and the attractions for a terror strike. Ahh, “TERROR STRIKE”. People associate this quoted word sentence to only the North-East India or the Kashmir. Rest of the Indian peninsular region being quite and calm. Then why has such kind of attack on the Indian IT capital? Many theories are doing the round in my mind. Is it to show that the terrorists are still present in India, to warn the government “Beware, we are still here”. Or was it a precursor to something heavier, more deadly. Or was it just to show to government the terrorists striking power, the immaculate timing of the blasts?

But then immediately I got a phone call on my cell. It was from my friend from Goa, who is doing his MBA. He was concerned. I was thinking should I say him the truth about the vicinity of location to my residence, or to say that the location was very far. The truth was the location is quite near and I was planning to go that place on Saturday. But telling him that would have not done any good. He would be more sorry than happy. I didn’t not say that the reported death too, was at the same location which is near to my residence. I told him, “Hey everything is alright. Didi is at home, nephew too is on his way back. The school is in other direction than the blasts ites. Jijaji is in office. I am in office.” He also wanted to check with our another friend in bangalore. She is married and lives with her husband and brother-in-law. I called her up. The call didn’t get through. I called again, then again, and finally got through. She picked it up quite late. My first sentence “Are you OK?”. To my amazement she said, she is in Pune. She has gone there to see off his brother-in-law to US. I was thankful that she was in Pune. Then I immediately sent an sms to jijaji asking about how the things are at his side? He said he was ok. Then I called up my cousin who is in the same office as Jijaji. She too was in office itself.

Finally the canteen got a bit emptied and employees had started going back to their workstations. Till evening a warning was announced on the PA system, not to leave the office and the cabs will be arranged. The Bangalore traffic conditions was bad. Everyone was heading towards their home, to get along with their family, to be together. There was huge traffic jam. Me and my pool partner decided to leave late. Till then we thought of doing our project work.

Everything is usual. Total change in the situation. Many changes in the lives.

Later while riding back to home, I was thinking, has this incident did any change in life? Did it affect the way I think? Did it affect me? Or Did it affect anyone?

Is it resilience of the people to take up this kind of incidence or is it indifference?
Are the people really affected by such kind of things? I feel people are getting used to such kind of incidence. People do not feel the attachment towards other. There is no affection left. But the immediately what counter convinces this thing is, even if I feel affectionate to those affected by the incidence, what change can I bring in their lives. There is no way I can help them with my meager resources. If I give it to the government, will there be no corruption to suck up my helping money? Will my help money reach the needy? Will there be any difference made with my donated amount?

People keep swinging between these extremes and do not settle on any thought as their final ideology. There is a group of people who want to help, another group who is indifferent towards all the incidents and there is another group who want to cash in from the helping hands. There are 10 answers and 100 questions to be answered. This imbalance doesn’t help anyone. And finally……

Everything is usual. No change in the situation. No change in the lives.

The ultimate reality remains is:
In a universe of ambiguity, this kind of certainty comes only once.

Money Drain

Last week I received a mail speaking about how our country loses its money by buying the foreign products. Below are few statements out of the mail.



Indian economy is in a crisis. Our country like many other Asian countries is undergoing a severe economic crunch. Many Indian industries are closing down. The Indian economy is in a crisis and if we do not take proper steps to control those, we will be in a critical situation. More than 30000 crore rupees of foreign exchange are being siphoned out of our country on products such as cosmetics, snacks, tea, beverages...etc which are grown, produced and consumed here . A cold drink that costs only 70 / 80 paisa to produce is sold for nine rupees, and a major chunk of profits from these are sent abroad. This is a serious drain on indian economy. "coca cola "and" sprite " belong to the same multinational company, "coca cola"? Cant you consider some of the better alternatives to aerated drinks. You can drink lemon juice, fresh fruit juices, chilled lassi (sweet or sour), butter milk, coconut water, jaljeera, enerjee, masala milk..........Everyone deserves a healthy drink, including you!
Over and above all this, economic sanctions have been imposed on us. We have nothing against multinational companies, but to protect our own interests we request everybody to use indian products only for next two years. With the rise in petrol prices, if we do not do this, the rupee will devalue further and we will end up paying much more for the same products in the near future.
What you can do about it?
1. Buy only products manufactured by wholly indian companies.
2. Enroll as many people as possible for this cause.
Each individual should become a leader for this awareness.
This is the only way to save our country from severe economic crisis. You don't need to give-up your lifestyle. You just need to choose an alternate product.

List of products provided by Indian companies
1. Bathing soap:
Use - cinthol & other godrej brands, santoor, wipro shikakai, mysore sandal, margo, neem, evita, medimix, ganga , nirma bath & chandrika
Instead of - lux, lifeboy, rexona, liril, dove, pears, hamam, lesancy, camay, palmolive
2. Tooth paste:
Use - neem, babool, promise, vico vajradanti, prudent, dabur products, miswak
Instead of - colgate, close up, pepsodent, cibaca, forhans, mentadent .
3. Tooth brush:
Use - prudent, ajanta , promise
Instead of - colgate, close up, pepsodent, forhans, oral-b
4. Shaving cream:
Use - godrej, emani
Instead of - palmolive, old spice, gillete
5. Milk powder:
Use - indiana , amul, amulya
Instead of - anikspray, milkana, everyday milk, milkmaid.
6. Mobile connections
Use - bsnl, airtel
Instead of - hutch




It did seemed logical & horrifying.
Logical because these things do actually happen and there is lot of truth involved in it. The foreign multinationals get huge sums of profit by selling their products on a royalty. People here just become the followers of the leader. What is actually required is that we should rise above the situation in creating an Indian Leader like the Tata’s to whom the foreign companies will follow. In India, people just “like” to read about it and don’t actually “do” anything about it. Their conscience is satiated by reading these things and they feel they have contributed. The actual way to contribute is not by thinking alone. There must be some action associated to what your thoughts are.

Horrifying, because this is the situation for the Indians for the past 2000 years. There is no change at all. The Indian kings and the politicians have always been retroactive. Look at all the big battles drawn on the Indian soil, all the attacks been targeted on the India. The attackers from the north have taken so much gold from here. Mohammad Ghouri had attacked India four times and every time he had taken all the gold and the riches from the Indian emperors. Indians had never disappointed him and neither did to the British.

Even though we had the capability to rise again from the downfall we never rose to the occasion of actually invading other countries and bringing back our gold. We were the people who believed in self content. We had never conquered any territory outside the mainland India. Except King Ashoka others were happy fighting amongst themselves for the ultimate power. King Ashoka had established a lot of territories under his kingdom.

Understandings from the past history leads us to another point of concern is the way we live our lives. Do we Indians actually dream of becoming big in world picture? Answering to this question some people might start thinking what is this question? Aren’t we going ahead in the terms of buyouts of the foreign companies? I would ask then, whether is this question ever struck to them to make something big in their lives? Just a handful of industrialists are paving their ways to get ahead. But look at the companies they are acquiring. The resident government of their home country is making it a point that the already employed people and not rendered un-employed, i.e. their jobs are not moved to India. But is there such kind of thinking available on the Indian soil? Are the politicians actually concerned about the development and money drain? The other countries make it a point that their countries money is not siphoned off.

So let us make it a point to contribute towards the wellness of our country. Let us buy foreign currencies at the rate as they are buying our currencies. Lets have
1 Rs = 45 US $
1 Rs = 33 CAN $
Etc….