1/2 boy 1/2 man

The average age of the army man is 19 years. He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for his country. He never really cared much for work and he would rather wax his own car than wash his father's, but he has never collected unemployment dole either. He's a recent college graduate; he was probably an average student from one of the Kendriya Vidyalayas, pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old jalopy, and has a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to be waiting when he returns from half a world away. He listens to rock and roll or hip -hop or country or gazals or swing and a 155mm howitzer. He is 5 or 7 kilos lighter now than when he was at home because he is working or fighting the insurgents or standing gaurd on the icy Himalayas from before dawn to well after dusk or he is at Mumbai engaging the terrorists. He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark. He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either one effectively if he must. He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional. He can march until he is told to stop, or stop until he is told to march. He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without spirit or individual dignity. His pride and self-respect, he does not lack. He is self-sufficient. He has two sets of combat dress: he washes one and wears the other. He keeps his water bottle full and his feet dry. He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts. If you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food. He'll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle when you run low. He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were his hands. He can save your life - or take it, because that is his job. He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay, and still find ironic humor in it all. He has seen more suffering and death than he should have in his short lifetime. He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed. He feels every note of the Jana Gana Mana vibrate through his body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to 'square-away' those around him who haven't bothered to stand, remove their hands from their pockets, or even stop talking. In an odd twist, day in and day out, far from home, he defends their right to be disrespectful. Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather, he is paying the price for our freedom. Beardless or not, he is not a boy. He is your nation's Fighting Man that has kept this country free and defended your right to Freedom. He has experienced deprivation and adversity, and has seen his buddies falling to bullets and maimed and blown. But, He has asked nothing in return, except our acknowledgement of his existence and understanding of his human needs. Remember him, always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood. And now we even have women over there in danger, doing their part in this tradition of going to War when our nation calls us to do so. As you go to bed tonight, remember this shot. . .. A short lull, a little shade and a picture of loved ones in their helmets. Prayer wheel for our military... please don't break it Please send this on after a short prayer. Prayer Wheel 'Lord, hold our Indian Army in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen.' When you receive this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our soldier, sailors , and airmen , in all frontiers There is nothing attached... This can be very powerful... Of all the gifts you could give a Soldier, Sailor, or Airman, prayer is the very best one. I can't break this one, sorry. Pass it on to everyone and pray for the Indian Soldier. And unlike your 'Babus' or 'Netas' HE will always do you proud!!!

Definition of Wisdom by Chanakya

पुष्पे गन्धं तिले तैलं काष्ठे अग्निं पयसि घृतम्
इक्षौ गुडं तथा देहे पश्यात्मानं विवेकतः- चाणक्य नीति

Transliteration:
puShpe gandhaM tile tailaM kaaShThe agniM payasi ghRutam
ikShau guDaM tathaa dehe pashyaatmaanaM vivekataH
- chaaNakya nIti

Meaning of the subhAShita:

(Just as) fragrance in a flower, oil in the sesame seeds, fire in the log, ghee in the milk, jaggery in the sugarcane, through wisdom, see the soul in the body.

Commentary:
We can see and touch a flower, but not its fragrance. The fragrance is only felt. When sesame seeds are held in the hand, the oil in them is presumed, not touched. A piece of wood has the potential to burn, the fire in it is assumed. Butter and ghee are blended in the milk. Although they are not visible separately in the milk, their presence is acknowledged. In the sugarcane, the sweetness of the jaggery is stored. Although it is not perceived to touch or sight, it is understood.

These were all perceived through deduction, using our knowledge and wisdom. Similarly, a soul in the body is perceived through one's intellect. That is the only way one can connect to oneself and to the Supreme self, eventually. No one has ever touched, seen, smelt, heard or tasted the soul literally. Yet, it is that very vital force of life that makes one alive! Without the presence of the soul in the body, one would be considered dead.

Hence, question not the presence of the soul, perceive it through wisdom!

Corporate lesson - from Panchthantra

Everyone knows that we Indians invented the zero. Without zero and the decimal number system, writing and calculating really large numbers would be very difficult.

 

This would be awful for people in the financial industry, whose work depends on having really big salaries. Fortunately Brahmagupta came to their rescue.

 

Another thing which is crucial to the financial services industry is the concept of being too big to fail, which has been put to good use by Citigroup, Bear Stearns, and Goldman Sachs over the past few years in sucking money from American taxpayers. This beautiful concept was also invented by an Indian - Vishnu Sharma, the author of the Panchatantra, in the story of the Weaver and the Chariot Maker.


The story of the weaver and chariot maker is one of the Panchatantra stories that usually doesn't make it to primary school textbooks or Amar Chitra Katha, mostly because it's full of sex, war, and moral hazard. Since you probably haven't read it, here's a quick summary.


A weaver sees a princess during a festival and falls in love with her. As a weaver, he has no chance of marrying her, so he sinks into depression. His friend, a chariot maker decides to help him out. He designs a flying chariot in the shape of Garuda, dresses the weaver up as Vishnu, and tells him to fly the chariot into the princess's room, tell her that he is Vishnu and wants to marry her Gandharva Syle. That is, the wedding is kept a secret from everyone except the princess and the faux-Vishnu. The princess agrees, and the weaver comes back every night to his wife.


Eventually, the maids notice that the princess is spending her days in total bliss, suspect that she's in love, and tell the King. The King asks her what's going on, and she tells him that she's married to Vishnu himself. The King is absolutely delighted, and decides that there's no point in paying tribute to the Chakravarti (Emperor) now that Vishnu himself is on the kingdom's side. The next night, he catches the weaver as he enters the princess's room and asks him to fight the Chakravarti' s army.

The weaver is horrified. Pretending to be Vishnu was fine when it allowed him to make sweet, sweet love to the princess, but taking on the role of Vishnu to face an imperial army single-handed is another thing altogether. On the other hand, if he confesses to the King that he is not actually Vishnu and has been boinking the princess under false pretenses for the past month, he will have his head chopped off. So he decides to get on to the battlefield and do the best job he can, while the King is whipping up enthusiasm in the population by telling them that Vishnu himself is going to do all the fighting.


By this time, Garuda (the real one, not the mechanical one) has tipped off Vishnu about what's going on, and cautioned him that if the fake Vishnu doesn't win the battle, the people of the kingdom will lose all faith in him. Vishnu doesn't want to see this happen, so on the battlefield he enters the weaver's body and annihilates the Chakravarti' s army. The entire army. Every single soldier. After this, the weaver marries the princess, everyone goes on worshiping Vishnu, and the king becomes the new Chakravarti.


The moral is that you should conduct your affairs in such a way that if you fail, it will lead to someone or something even bigger or more powerful failing too. This lets you get away with anything. The weaver got away with having sex with the princess on false pretenses (this is rape under Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code), pretending to be a god (awesomely enough, this too is a criminal offense under Section 508), and annihilating an entire army that was fighting a just war - after all, it was the king who broke the treaty (you could make a case for this being genocide under Article 2 of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide).


American banks and financial institutions were very good at absorbing this lesson, and leveraged themselves up to such an extent that if they failed they would take the global economy down with them. And just as the weaver lived happily ever after with the princess, banks have lived happily ever after with taxpayer-funded bailouts.


But no matter how hard American investment banks try, Indians still remain the masters of this art. If the whole truth surrounding Lalit Modi is revealed, big politicians might be trapped. Modi is, thus, likely to get away lightly -- Another peson no need to mention - you already guessed it - A Raja, who might have given away spectrum at bargain basement rates, but whose sacking would lead to the government collapsing.

 

All this goes to show that no matter what the anguished elderly gentlemen who write letters to the editor feel, or post any any number of posting in your blog or group  Indians are still in touch with our ancient and glorious culture. 

 

You boss will not allow you to sink else he will also sink

Chanakya Nithi

आतुरे व्यसने प्राप्ते दुर्भिक्षे शत्रु-संकटे।
राजद्वारे श्मशाने च यस्तिष्ठति स बान्धवः॥
चाणक्य नीति

āture vyasane prāpte durbhikṣe śatru-saṁkaṭe |
rājadvāre śmaśāne ca yastiṣṭhati sa bāndhavaḥ||
cāṇakya nīटी

The real kinsman is one who  stand by us at the most difficult situations in life.  The situations may be when you are afflicted by serious illness, when you are deep sorrow for some reason,  when there is a great famine and food is scarce,  when strong enemies attack you,  when you are hauled up by the law enforcers to the kings court, and when your near relative or yourself are dead and taken to the burial ground

Relatives of all hues and colours throng your household when you have fame, health and wealth.  But you can expect only a few of them to come to your rescue when the times are unfavourable.  When you are ill you   may find a large number of people watching indifferently  when you are carried to the hospital, but the genuine relative will wait upon you and help in your treatment.
 When you are overcome by sorrow most of the pseudo relatives will simply avoid you. 
 If the region is visited  by a famine and food to share is at a premium, only the loving relative will have a mind to share whatever he has with you.
 Moreover, when you are attacked and abused by an enemy, most of the people around you will either remain passive onlookers or clear the field. Only the concerned relative will stand by you.
The worst situation in life is when you are caught up at the wrong side of the law and you are taken away be the law enforcers.  Here only the close relatives will stake their personal safety and will be of some help to you. 
The ultimate loss you can have is the death of a near relative and the occasiion of his burial can be most painful.  The dearest relatives will never fail to accompany you to the burial ground and console you and partake in your sorrow with full heart.

Marriage issues of H1B status Persons

Dear Fellow Brahmins:

Recently, in my  recurring search towards helping  Indian parents of boys and girls living in the U.S., in matrimony, I located a boy living  in Oregon and wrote to the boy's parents in Chennai suggesting an alliance with a girl who was also living  in the same State and  city.  The girl's Father living in Hyderabad had earlier welcomed my initiative and suggested  that I help his daughter too!  I knew girl (to be married) was a very good looking gal, there was Nakshtra Porutham between the boy and the girl and they were both not of the same Gotram;  I suspected the boy and the girl to be of the same age (since I was not privy to the boy's date of birth)!  There were all the makings in the proposed alliance of  an introduction between the boy and the girl, to take it to the next stage!  The girl was on a H1B visa transitioning to Green Card, unable to relocate to another city and State from Oregon until she got her GC which could take another 6-7 years if not longer and so was the case with the boy boy! 

Bang came the  reply from the boy's Mother, which in effect said:  We are Vadama Iyers, they are not! (the girl's parents were actually Madhwas).  That the girl was about the same age as the boy And they wanted a three  year age difference between the boy and the girl! And the whole prelude to introduction of the boy and girl was aborted without further consideration and adieu! by the Boy's Parents!

I wrote back to the boy's mother with my explanations and reasoning behind making this initial proposal towards matrimony!  Please read on:

Thank you very much for your email response.  I appreciate your reply.

Your second point first!  I had suspected that the boy and the girl would be of the same age (since I did not know your son's date of birth) but I have known of instances where Parents do make exceptions even if the girl is older than the boy by a few months -- even up to one year! in the interest of moving forward  with the marriage!  So I submitted this alliance for your consideration!

First point second, I had also known that you are Vadama Iyers and they are Madhwas but here again, many families in the U.S. that I know of, are seeking alliances between boys and girls born in the broad general category of "South Indian Brahmins"  Boys/Girls; hence I proceeded to submit the alliance for your consideration.

A third point that warranted my consideration of submittal of this alliance to you  was that there was Nakshthra Porutham between the boy and the girl and there was no Gotram conflict between the boy and the girl!

I would like to additionally submit following information for your kind consideration:

(a)   boys and girls living in the U.S. are locked into their jobs with H1B visas; several of them are transitioning from H1B into Green Card Status -- which can take up to next 10 years, if not longer,  to get the Green Card, depending on when one's application was filed!  Applicants who filed their Petitions for GC conversion within the last year year or two, can take up to 10-12 years before they actually get their Green Cards into their hands!  i.e., if the immigration rules do not change!

(b)  They (boys and girls) are unable to leave their jobs and move to another city and State with the marriage because the job situation is very tight. due to down turn in economy we are witnessing in the U.S. following the financial  collapse in October 2008! I  This makes it  twice as hard for boys and girls to leave ones' jobs and relocate with the marriage to another city and State, so most boys and girls (marriageable age) are stuck in their own cities and States and they will have to do so for another 8-10-12 years until they get their GCs, that is, of course, if they continue to have their jobs!
(c) If,  in the process of relocation, after their wedding, to another city and State to join their spouse,  should  one lose his/job  and don't  find another  one within 30 days and are unemployed for over 30 days, they face the prospect of violating the U.S. immigration laws and have to leave the country or convert  their H1B visa into a H4 (dependent visa) -- so it is tough situation for boys and girls;  this explains why one of the spouse cannot simply relocate to another city and State after the wedding!  It should have been a lot easier for these hard working boys and girls, but unfortunately, the Immigration Laws simply don't help H1B visa holders; and the employers (MNCs) are  very happy over this situation, because they have these employees over the barrel in holding onto their jobs!  They are getting  a very good quality, highly educated,  well qualified,  very dependable, slugging 70-80 hours a week, many of them under paid labor force, contributing to social security taxes to the U.S. Treasury, that many of them may never claim,  continuing in their jobs without interruption to their employers, working in a very critical environment, very loyally,  year after year after year!  And the MNCs love this situation and the workforce!  Where else are they going to get it from?!!

(d)  With the economic situation being as it is, many boys who are going to India to get married, are returning empty handed; the girls from India simply do not want to come to the U.S. with a marriage option,  as a dependent of H1B into a H4 classification and simply "sit on bench" in their homes in the U.S. upon arrival!  This is another reason why many girls from India are shedding U.S. employed boys in any category, H1B, GC (they cannot come here of course for another 25 years) and Citizens (it takes 1-2 years for the spouses to join their partner over here). Since educated SW girls are making INR 50-100K (if not more) every month in India and India is prospering economically, they are just not interested to come to the U.S. with a marriage option!

In the mean time, parents in India of boys and girls, living in the U.S. go through an agonizing hope against hope of getting their sons and daughters married,  somehow! This hope may be an unrealized dream for many in their life time!

I do, however,  sincerely respect you feelings about your wanting your son get married to a Vadama Boy but I would encourage you to strongly consider the situation facing your son in regard to Matrimony!  This is not an advice I am doling out but a very serious situation parents like you face  in your matrimonial search!  Unless, of course, it is the intent of your son to return to India  any time soon!

Good luck in your endeavors,

I remain, respectfully,

V. Srinivasan
3614 Columbia Blvd

Garland, Texas 75043-2246
U.S.A