Enlightened ... There are no special effects.

In a chat, "Religion is beyond nation and is personal to an individual and not connected to any one particular religion. Geographic boundaries don't define a religion" said a well-read, well-travelled, right-wing Hindu. This article is to demystify the word religion and give a dose of filtered coffee to wake up Hindus. Deity and its Land An average Hindu must be familiar with the Vedic rituals of Homam. In Homam, Hindus seek blessings from Ishta Devataa, Kula Devataa, Grama Devataa, and other deities that influence our lives.  If my friend is right, either these rituals are not part of the religion or religion is not only personal but includes clans and lands. The latter is more likely to be true. Of the Devataas mentioned here, the Grama Devataa is the most relevant one for this topic. Grama Devataa is supposed to unite the people of a village - defined by some boundaries on land. They are the Kshetrapalas - protectors of the land, its people, and its flora and fauna. T...

Our morning walk topic turned to the gen-next and its dependence on tools, especially Google Maps. We regularly see drivers missing the signs on the roads when following Google Maps.  A late turn here and missed turn there make the driver look lost.  We see an absence of common sense and over-reliance on the maps for directions.  We wondered how we managed to find our ways over two decades ago.  We used to read the map and memorize the directions to the best of our abilities, supplemented by small notes in case our memory failed.  Most importantly, the focus was on how to not miss a turn. We would remember the street that proceeds the one that we must take.   But every generation goes through the learning of new tools.  Why do we complain when the next generation uses maps? This article is an attempt to identify the missing factor - learning.  Let me take the field I am most familiar with - programming.  Generations before mine used asse...

 Yes. You read it right. RSS might think that the UCC is a brilliant idea to unite Hindus.  The BJP might think it appears like a good stick to beat the Muslims and get Hindu votes.  I think both are shortsighted if not totally wrong. First, let's look at the political angle.  If UCC becomes a law, Muslims would continue to ignore it like an average Indian ignores traffic laws.  The interesting part is, even for a traffic law violation, our Police would hesitate to act if the violator wears a skullcap and sports a beard.  So, as in traffic law violation, it would be the Hindus who would be punished if they violate UCC.  In other words, UCC could be the new tool of an aggressor to target only Hindus. Coming to the social issue, we are so diverse that each community has evolved its customs and traditions over hundreds of years.  Some are social, and some could even be biological.  I qualify it as 'could be' as there is no documented scientific ...