Europe 2015

All our bags are packed.. we're ready to go!

Sep 26-27: Pittsburgh to Toronto 

to Zurich at 8am.

View from Novotel:

Bought swiss travel.pass for 251 CHF per person for 4 days starting Sep 28. In addition bought 13 chf pass per person for Sep 27 to travel within Zurich.

Took train from airport to Novotel hotel. Since time difference between US and Switzerland is 6 hours,  we slept for 2 hours and then took a tram to "old town". 

Ate veg panini in a restaurant called "Motta".

Then walked around town and took the low boat ride in the river that flowed into the big lake.
There were very healthy swans in the river.

Then went for a big boat ride (not low boat) for a 15 minute ride and then walked back to Zurich downtown.

On the way we walked in the park a bit south of zurich and since I did not have swiss francs,  a Pakistani waiter (young man) leant us a cappuccino. I took his contact and intend to help him as he said he'd done his ms in IT from London.

Then dinner in a vegan restaurant called tibits.


Walked/ discovered a wonderful street north of Motto with a very European look (cobble stones etc). I think it was called niederstall strasse.
Back to the hotel..

Day 2: got up at 10 am because of jetlag. Breakfast/lunch  in Motto again. Walked around town and took a polytrain to the zurich university.

Took a big boat (to a place called kli*), then came back to hotel and heard from neel about being low on funds.
Had a big fight because of that.
Headed to Bern after nightfall.
Took s bus to old city altho we could have walked out too (20 minutes).
Reached old city and stood in line to watch the guy in the clock to strike a gong 8 times along with a  100 other tourists.
Then checked onto golden schlussel hotel on rathausgasse which is right in the center of old town.
Then rested for 1 hour and headed out for walking around old town.
Ate in a place called spaghetti factory. Quite lousy. Also walked into a place called casino thinking it was a casino but it turned out to be a private party.

Day 3: Next morning started at 9 am. Had a very nice breakfast in golden schlussel.
Walked the length and breadth if old town. Also saw a place where there were bears (an enclosure for bears) altho we couldn't see any.
Then went to see Einstien's house followed by by a visit to the Einstien's museum.
Then got got on a train train to Luzerne around 2 pm with the intention to take  the golden pass express at 6.
Met a sweet old lady (teacher), swiss lady lady who lady who plans ladywhoplanson ladywhoplansontravelling ladywhoplansontravelling ladywhoplansontravellingtomyanmar next month.

String Theory and the Vedanta Sutra

I'm the last person to claim erudition in either String Theory or in the Vedas. I am, what you may call, an interested party observing the Intelligent Design vs Evolution debate like a tennis match.

However, last week  when I heard this TED talk given by Dr. Brian Greene I felt I had to jump in with an observation.
That the scientific community and the scriptures are saying the same thing is in itself not so earth shattering an observation because many have concluded this before. But when I hear  Dr. Greene talk about a Multiverse and then I listen to Ved Vyas talk about सहस्त्र ब्रम्हांड (Sahastra Bramhand) while reading the Bhagvad Gita, I feel compelled to list out the parallels between the two approaches.

Language:
Dr. Greene speaks in English with Latin references and Mr. Vyas in Sanskrit

Appearance:
Dr. Greene wears a coat and tie; Mr. Vyas has an indeterminate wardrobe.

Caliber:
Both these gentlemen are leaders in their fields having spent countless years pouring over sources of knowledge to uncover the nature of reality.

Approach:
Dr. Greene relies on inductive reasoning whereas Mr. Vyas uses deductive reasoning.

Dumbing-down of the principles:
Since the subject of explaining reality is no trivial matter, both these gentlemen attempt to dumb down their explanation for the laity.
Dr. Greene uses graduate students to make colorful slides with sound effects that  then depict colliding galaxies and dark matter in a star-wars like manner.
Mr. Vyas uses descriptions of rituals and vedic rites that dumb down the underlying principles espoused in the Vedas that are difficult to grasp.

Standing on the shoulders of giants:
Both Dr. Greene and Mr. Vyas attribute their success to entities before them. Dr. Greene waxes eloquent on the work done by such luminaries as Galileo, Newton, Neils Bohr, Hisenberg etc. Mr. Vyas on the other hand, names many past sages and saints of a time before his. The subtle difference is that Dr. Greene's predecessors are arrayed from less knowledgeable to more knowledgeable as time goes on whereas Ved Vyas relies on each predecessor being progressively less knowledgeable as the arrow of time advances. So, while Galileo was not as knowledgeable  as Newton, who was a not as knowledgeable as Einstein, Ved Vyas's bases his theory on each saint, going backward in time knowing more than his descendant, all the way to the final saint who he calls God, the all-knowing.


Multidimensional reality:
Both gentlemen use the concept of a multidimensional reality to explain what would commonly seem nonsensical. When the Vedas talk of God being timeless, or the soul being ever-lasting, they are talking of a reality where the time dimension does not exist. When Dr. Greene talks of  various "shapes" in this TED talk, he is talking about more then 3 dimensions of space. Using neighborhood theory, dimensions can be defined as how many points are next to every other point in a lattice grid. Four points implies 2 dimensional, 6 points implies 3 dimensional.  Every point next to every other point implies infinite dimensional.  So when Mr. Ved Vyas' talks of God being everywhere at the same time, he is talking about an infinite-shape reality, much like what  Dr. Greene has shown in his talk.


Having said all that, and shown how both the camps are making equally fantastic claims, I have to  say that I'm rooting for Mr. Vyas.
Why is that?
There are a couple of reasons:

1. Given that both camps make equally fantastic claims, if one hypothesis offers all the answers that explain everything, not only material reality but our thoughts and all aspects of our existence, whereas the other suggests that answers are coming in the future (which is indeterminate), I would tend to go for the former.
2. Dr. Green in his talk, says this is a great time for astronomical research because in the future, galaxies will cross the time horizon and no longer be available for study. He also goes on to say that future scientists may treat our evidence primitive and unreliable. So, that, kind of puts a damper on the theory that given eternity, all answers will come. 
3. There is a fundamental dimension missing in research in our "scientific" circle. That dimension is consciousness. We all know we are conscious and feel conscious. However, based on the fact that this area of study receives a proportionately low level of  research grants, tells me that we are probably never going to represent reality in it's totality using just the mainstream scientific method.

Origins of life and matter

Here are some audio files that made me look at the whole argument on Darwin's Origin of Species and the Big Bang Theory with a little (more than a little) suspicion.

1. Purpose of BI
2. Bag Bang 1
3. Big Bang 2
4. Empirical Evidence And Consciousness
5. Consciousness
6. Evolution 1
7. Evolution 2
8.  Evolution 3
9. Natural History 1
10. Natural History 2
11.  Higher Dimensional Science
12. Properties Of Spirit

 They've been spoken by Robert Thompson, an ISKCON devotee. To me they make a LOT of sense.
Give it a try!

Neel's Graduation Party

Neel is gradually growing his wings and getting ready to take flight! These last few months of his senior year in High School have been a blur of games and parties. (In his own words: " I got to be honest... life is good!").

We celebrated his graduation with a backyard party on Jun 18th.
Here are some pictures:

Neel Graduation Party

Among the many (other) forms of entertainment that was showcased on that day, was a "hoedown" that was put up by Neeraj, Manish, Jatinder and myself.
The hoedown was inspired by the improv show called "Whose line is it anyway".

Here is a video of that hoedown. (Thanks, Aayush for recording the video :)


Some of our friends asked me to share the words/lyrics of the hoedown, so I am posting them here:
----------
1 I was born in Lucknow, India
The year was Ninety Three
My parents named me Neel Krishna
I was a really cute baby
My papa and my mama,
God bless their loving souls
Took a flight to U S A
To a place I now call home

2 A lot has happened in my life
Between that day and now
And if you listen to me
I will tell you how.
El-ementary school was cool,
Tho’ I don't recall a lot
Mama Papa's word on that
Is really all I got

3 Then I got to middle school
I hope I do not blush
When I tell you secretly
On all girls I had a crush
Junior High was girls and games
Things took off rather slow
I was taking all this in
When cold winds began to blow

4 High school my friends, is where
My story takes a twist
So I will take the scenic route
Rather than the gist.
Dreaming was my passion
And homework was a lot of work
I had no time to sit and dream
It was driving me berserk

5 Soon I found the time to dream
It was more science than an art
The period of Biology
Is when I would really start.
The teacher's voice came from a-far
Like a rapidly moving train
That had jumped off it's steely rails
On a up and down terrain

6 Neel Krishna, my boy, it said
Wake up and pay some heed
Through the misty corners of my mind
I thought I heard it plead.
I raised my head in looked around
A tad bit off the desk
Was this a dream I was dreaming
Or had my teacher turned grotesque?

7 It was a dream, indeed, I said
And a smile lit up my face
Closing my eyes again I slept
His memory to erase
Oh what fun to dream and sleep
I have to you admit
With a family as cool as mine
Should I ever commit?


8 Show me your class grades son
Was my father's constant refrain
ESembler and counsellor meetings
Were a huge neck in the pain.
I realized then and there that day
It wasn't easy to be lazy
What I forgot to consider was that
That my parents were... desis!

9 School was a welcome escape my friends
Boy, What a terrific relief!
Not a day passed by when
In having fun I did not believe
From the time I rode the bus to school
Till my car I drove oh boy!
Rarely a day had passed
When I had had no joy!

10 You can be what you want to son
My father would recount
Who knew how easy it was to do
With a facebook account!
So clone myself, I did one day
Mark Zukerberg was a help
A new image of myself I made
Right off the cyber shelf!

11 One thing I hated with all my guts
In my little homebound sector
Misries shizrees all aside
It was papa da lecture
Real or virtual existence my friend
I still have got to eat
Dinner at home I have to say
Without a lecture was incomplete

12 I hated papa’s lectures so
Not because they made me blue
I hated them with vengeance then
Because they were so true.
The only hope in sight for me
To get out of my plight
Was the soothing sound of Mama’s words
Mera ladka hai bahut bright

13 This dream state persisted then
One cannot but deny
From two thousand eight to o-eleven
At North Allegheny High
Between dream and reality thus
My high school years did pass
Standing here today is
A fact I can contrast.

14 Today, I'm a grad-u-ate
My future looks bright and straight
With good wishes from all of you
What is there to debate?
But truth be told, don’t get me wrong
I am very e-lated
But the concept of a graduation party
Isn’t it over-rated?




-----------
There was also some lines I wrote (in the same meter) that I could not recite on that day due to lack of time. Those words are a little more serious and were from me to Neel. (I did recite them for Neel later on that day and he liked them :). I am posting them too:

----------------

A Dad's Perspective

To all the dad's here today
This goes out to you all
Let's not forget the time my friends
When we were four feet tall.
Don’t know about you my friend
But the truth has to prevail
There were times when we felt like Neel.
There was no fear to fail

Books and labs took up our days
But I'd really be amiss
If I did not admit to you
That dreaming was a bliss
I dreamt of things big and small
But by and by I knew
That of all the things that I got in life
The most beautiful gift is you

An August day in ninety three
When I first saw you on a tray
When I look at you standing tall today
My pride I can display
The pride I feel is not for real
Because a force that is unseen
Has made you what you are today
And will always be between

Neel I have to say this to you
In words that may not rhyme
That being your dad
Has brought to me, happiness sublime
There were times I must admit
I was pulling out my hair
I'm sure you know the times I mean
I'm sure you are aware

The life lessons that I gave to you
That would end up in a brawl
Were given with the hope that
I'd hold you before you fall
In the past when times were hard
I was mean to you and smug
I’d do the only thing that makes some sense
I’d make up with a hug

When you look up to me and say
Papa you have no fault
I have tell you how wrong you are
Take my advice with a pinch of salt.
When you climb the ladder of your life
Your dreams to pursue
Don't slip up on the advice I gave
I may have missed a rung or two.

Like clouds can’t hide the sun for long
Your honesty has always shone
And as the years have gone on past
My respect for you has grown
So when I look at you today
My heart fills up with joy
I thank our God who made you a
Fine and wonderful boy




-------------------

Gita - Sanskrit + Hindi from Gitamrta.org

Hello friends,

I listened to an audio stream of the Gita translation in Sanskrit and Hindi from Gitamrta.org.

I was so moved by the rendition that I made some mp3s of each chapter. I especially like the pace of the narration because it moves fast thru each shlok (without the explanation) That kind of gives a continuity to the dialog. For me, I'd rather read the Gita quickly a hundred times and peel off the intricacies of the divine dialog with each reading, as against reading it once or twice with an explanation.

So I requested the creator of this archive if I could share the mp3s that I have recorded.
And very kindly, he agreed with a simple "no problem"!

So, here's the BG in Sanskrit and Hindi by chapters. It is produced by Kamlesh Patel (of Karamsad.com) and the narrator is Savyasachi Das:

Chapter 1
Chapter 2


More coming soon...

Halloween 2009

We had a Halloween Party on the 31st.
Big guys acting like kids... and having a blast at it.

Shalini was a fortune-teller
I was a coolie AND a ... hold your breath... rockSTAR!

Click here for pics:

Halloween Party

Wonderful trip to the Wild West!

Nine glorious days in the wild west to see man-made wonders (Las Vegas) and God made marvels (San Diego beaches, Bryce night sky and a boat ride between towering canyon walls). At the end of it all, I get the feeling of how insignificant we and our lives are!

Click here to view: