Reflections

Upanishad Dnyaan : Shivling {उपनिषद ज्ञान : शिवलिंग} This article is a reproduction of a verse of the Mahanarayan Upanishad, षोडशोनूवकः {16 th Anuvak}, which is being reproduced here from two sources : one – the original book where I first came across this, Mahanarayan Upanishad by translated by Swami Vimalanand , and 2 nd – the website Ś r ī Vai ṣṇ avism. A third confirmatory source is the site Speaking Tree . The commentary has also been taken from both sources. The objective of this is to apprise those among us Hindus / Sanaatan Dharm followers who may not be aware of this. Some of us have been lead to believe, to quote The Speaking Tree : “{ It is unfortunate for some critics to have an imaginary invention on the image of Shiva Lingam as a male organ }. During my morning prayers and reading, I came across this verse from the above Upanishad; and given the interpretation that is prevalent in some sources [One can refer Wikipedia as an excellent example, which is ...

Confidence remains one of the most popular, focused on and discussed wiords in a manager’s dictionary, be it routine chats in teams, or be it hiring, or be it routine / strategic / tactical decisions or steps in managing. It becomes a fundamental, core parameter at most   times. While it is indeed vitally important, it is more often than not misunderstood, or its relative importance overstated , or misunderstood, leading to actual real-world problems… CONFIDENCE – OR COMPETENCIES? I have a different take... Confidence is linked to the end-result; and is thus a product, not a determinant in itself . I prefer focus not on being confident - I find that a distraction - but on the Process. The moment I focus on the process, and de-link everything else, and decide to give it my best shot - I am in comfort zone; even if I fail . Focussing on the process perforce requires me to break each task into into constituent elements; executing each element with max focus brings sa...

Hungry Gods is a book, as per its title, that is focused on Drugs, Sex Cults. A book on a Horrific Crime followed by an unthinkable revenge. The premise sounds promising, a very different theme to take, from the normal fair that thrillers put up before us nowadays. I will call it an experiment, and a unique one. Thus, the author Richa Lakhera deserves credit for that. Additional credits for the Book Cover : which, as can be seen below, is riveting, and suggestive of the revenge theme, taking the expectations from the book up several notches. THE BOOK The story starts with a brutal rape and murder of a woman; her son watches, hidden in the bushes, and it is the son that take revenge – and you don’t realize who the son is till the last few pages. Woven into this story is the story of a Pharmaceutical Major caught in a scandal – and the movie / TV industry, as this Pharma company is sponsoring a major serial. Suddenly, the stars and other   people connected with these...