Terence's Blog

Less Painful Typing - the Dvorak Layout

2011-03-26T15:48:00.008+05:30

If you're one of those people who spends 8 or more hours a day typing at a keyboard, you may want to try changing your keyboard layout to the Dvorak layout to make typing more comfortable. I switched to the Dvorak layout 6 months ago, and have since been reaping the benefits of more efficient typing. The Dvorak layout was invented by August Dvorak in 1936. Though not as popular as the QWERTY keyboard layout, it's designed so that the most common alphabets in English can be typed without moving your fingers from the "home row" of your keyboard. Here's what a dvorak keyboard looks like:

The standard QWERTY keys are also shown in red subscript for reference. If you learned touch typing, you probably know that different fingers type different keys. Fingers are positioned on the middle or home row as the "rest" postition and move to the top or bottom row depending on the key to be typed. The rest position for fingers of the left hand on a QWERTY keyboard, little finger to index finger, are placed on the A, S, D and F keys. The LH index finger also types the G key. In the Dvorak layout is designed so that the English vowels are at the home row position of the LH fingers in the order A, O, E, U and I. The RH fingers in the Dvorak layout are at the most common consonants, D, H, T, N and S.

If you haven't heard any of the above talk about touch typing before, and you've not learned touch typing, you're probably best placed to start learning and using the Dvorak keyboard. I used the QWERTY keyboard for some 10 years before exploring and switching to the Dvorak. If you're accustomed to the QWERTY layout, it may take you some time till you get accustomed to the Dvorak layout and type with your normal speed. It took me about 3 weeks to get comfortable with the layout during which time I practiced about an hour or two a day. It may take anything between a couple of weeks to a couple of months for different people, so plan your transit period so that you don't have to do much heavy typing during this period.

Learning Dvorak typing is much more fun than learning to type on a QWERTY keyboard, since even after the first few exercises, you can type many words on the home row itself. There are several great typing tutor software specialized for Dvorak users, e.g. dvorak7min and dvorakng. It is important that you use a good tutorial so that you can master the keys row by row. I thoroughly enjoyed my switch to the Dvorak layout every step of the way, even having some typing contests with a friend. Here are some statistics about the QWERTY and Dvorak layouts.

Key stroke distribution
Row	QWERTY	Dvorak
Top	52%	22%
Home	32%	70%
Bottom	16%	8%

To be realistic, my typing speed has seen much improvement, but typing feels much more effortless and as stress-free as I could have hoped for when I started out. As the above table shows, most of the characters you type on a Dvorak layout keyboard are on the home row. I'm sure there are a lot of people who can benefit from switching to the Dvorak layout. Could you be one of them?

There's much more information on Dvorak layout on the web. Here are some useful links:

Myths and the Da Vinci code

2010-07-28T21:58:00.012+05:30

Tomorrow is the feast of St. Martha of Bethany, and exactly one week after the feast of St. Mary Magdelene (July 22nd). These two are women, believed to be sisters, are venerated by the Catholic Church as Saints. Mary Magdelene was also the center of the book and movie "The Da Vinci code" by Dan Brown. I but decided to watch the movie, not with the hope of learning anything, but more out of curiosity, since the book has sold so many copies. One of the few things I learned from the movie is that either the author has little idea or has got mixed up about the Bible, early Christianity, Church history and quite a few other facts. A friend told me not enough is done to clarify the facts, so here goes:

Myth 1 - Mary Magdelene was the wife of Jesus, but the Catholic Church defamed her reputation

The Catholic Church actually venerates Mary Magdelene as a Saint, and an important one, at that. So she is someone to emulate and pray to for intercession. The sources quoted in Dan Brown's movie - the gospel of Mary Magdelene and the gospel of Philip are the so called Gnostic gospels. These were written centuries after the life of Jesus, and centuries after the lives of Philip and Mary Magdalene (the Gospel of Philip was written about 250 AD), needless to say they could not have been written by Philip or Mary Magdalene.

Celibacy is not something invented by the Catholic Church. The Prophet Jeremiah was a celibate, and so were members of an ancient Jewish group called the Qumran community. This group actually advocated celibacy. Jesus told His apostles "blessed are those who become eunuchs for the kingdom of God", and Saint Paul writing to the early Christians said "I'd prefer you to be [celibate] as I am". Celibacy was by no means unnatural or unheard of among the early Christians, and co-existed alongside marriage.

Myth 2 - The Catholic Church invented the idea that Jesus was divine at the Council of Nicaea and changed the existing known understanding of a mortal, married Jesus

The divinity of Jesus was never in question to the early Christians as known by several references at different points in the Church's history. People living in Jesus time and leaders of the early Church spoke of Jesus divinity, some of which I quote here:

Jesus is called Lord, God, and Son of God in all four canonical Gospels (Matt 1:23; 4:3,6; 14:33; 16:16; 26:63-66; 27:40,43,54; Mark 1:1; 3:11-12; 14:61-62; 15:39; Luke 1:32,35; 8:28; 22:70; John 1:1-3,14,18,34,49; 3:16-18; 5:18,25-29; 8:58-59; 10:30-36; 11:27; 19:7; 20:28,31; etc), in Acts of the Apostles (Acts
3:13; 8:37; 9:20; 20:28; etc) and the New Testament epistles (Romans 1:3-4; 5:10; 8:3; 9:5; 10:9-10; 1 Cor 8:4-6; Gal 2:20; 4:4; Eph 4:13; Phil 2:5-11; Col 1:15-20; 2:9; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:8-10; 4:14; 5:8; 10:29; 2 Peter 1:1,17; 1 John 3:8; 4:9-10,15; 5:5-13,20; etc). The divinity and deity of Jesus Christ is really unquestioned in the New Testament itself. These are the earliest Christian documents we have, despite the false claims of Brown. They are dated (with few exceptions) to the first century AD by all biblical scholars conservative or liberal.

St Ignatius of Antioch was a Christian leader who lived little after the time of Jesus (c.110AD). To quote his letter to the Ephesians:

Ignatius, also called Theophorus, to the Church at Ephesus in Asia, which is worthy of all felicitation, blessed as it is with greatness by the fullness of God the Father, predestined from eternity for a glory that is lasting and unchanging, united and chosen through true suffering by the will of the Father IN JESUS CHRIST OUR GOD...."
"For OUR GOD, JESUS CHRIST, was conceived by Mary in accord with God's plan: of the seed of David, it is true, but also of the Holy Spirit.

This is from Ignatius letter to the Ephesians, the people of Ephesus (an ancient Roman city in modern day Turkey). Other places this can be seen in the same document are 7:2; 9:1; 18:2. Ignatius also calls Jesus Lord in his letter to the Smyrnaeans in chapter 1 verse 1.

St. Justin the 'martyr' (c.100 - 165 AD) wrote in his First Apology:

"Although the Jews were always of the opinion that it was the Father of all who had spoken to Moses, IT WAS IN FACT THE SON OF GOD, who is called both Angel and Apostle, who spoke to him; they are, therefore, justly accused by both the prophetic Spirit and by Christ Himself of knowing neither the Father nor the Son. They who assert that the Son is the Father are proved to know neither the Father, nor that the Father of all has a Son, who is both the first-born Word of God AND IS GOD [John 1:1].

St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c.40 - 202 AD) wrote in Against Heresies

....and in one Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who became flesh for our salvation; and in the Holy Spirit, who announced through the prophets the dispensations and the comings, and the birth from a Virgin, and the passion, and the resurrection from the dead, and the bodily ascension into heaven of the beloved Christ Jesus our Lord, and his coming from heaven in the glory of the Father to re-establish all things; and the raising up again of all flesh of all humanity, in order that to JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD AND GOD AND SAVIOR AND KING, in accord with the approval of the invisible Father, every knee shall bend of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue shall confess Him, and that He may make just judgment of them all....

Myth 3 - 325 - 30 = nearly 400

On a more humourous note, the Council of Nicaea supposedly happened almost 4 centuries after Christ, according to Brown, while its actual date is around 325 AD. The Council of Nicaea was not responsible for establishing belief in the divinity of Jesus. The Council was called to clarify precisely how the Son of God related to God the Father (as "one in being [or substance or essence] with the Father" as the Creed states). As for it being a "relatively close vote" -- the final tally was 300 bishops (give or take a few, the exact number is uncertain) to two. Nobody at the Council was there thinking Jesus was just a "mortal prophet" -- not even the Arian heretics who clearly believed Jesus was "divine" or "God" in some sense. The Council of Nicaea clarified the exact nature and meaning of Jesus as "Lord and God." The Council of Constantinople in 381 AD clarified further how the Holy Spirit related to the Father and the Son in the Holy Trinity (Matthew 28:19; 2 Cor 13:14).

Work and Worship

2010-05-04T13:25:00.005+05:30

Economic Powers

The past century witnessed the rise and fall of communism in the Soviet Union. The mass appeal of communism is the idea of leveling the playing field for those at the bottom of the labour chain. The Bolsheviks inspired by Karl Marx's ideas of the class struggle rebelled and took over the government of Russia, overthrowing the czar and owning and controlloing all industry and workforce.

The West on the other hand has favoured (and still does) private ownership and free trade. Individuals and private and public organizations run businesses, and are granted autonomous management with little interference from the Government. This also has proven to have it's pitfalls. Lots of public money has been lost in the present exchanges. Unreal prices raised by artificial demand caused a sharp rise in land prices in the United States leading to a nationwide sub-prime crisis.

Economic forces and trends have proved to be key factors in our present world. The promise of Barack Obama to bring America out of the economic crisis, played a crucial factor in drawing popular support to vote the Harvard Ph.d and author of a book to victory in American Presidential election. Today, Greece's financial crunch is a major issue governing foreign policy of members of the European union.

In India, the control of businesses is mixed between state and public. Communist ruled states are few but significant. Left parties have had the states of West Bengal and Kerala as traditional strongholds. These states are famous for their trade and labour unions, which wield much power and dictate terms. It is debatable whether the balance of power is skewed too much in favour of trade unions.

Workers Day: just another holiday?

This past Saturday was May 1^st: Workers Day. With free trade has risen the concentration of power in the hands of corporate management. There have been inspirational individuals with vision who have led progress. Many people have as their role model, Mr N.R Narayana Murthy, founder and CEO of Infosys. Large companies especially attract much skilled labour. Free market economy makes large scale business possible, but the flip side is well known. Ramalinga Raju of Satyam fell from power when company management questioned his buying of large scale stake in Maytas (btw, did you observe that Maytas is Satyam spelled backwards).

The immense power and authority of top management in corporations may have different implications for the workers at the grassroots level. Organizations vary in their policies for the workers. Excessive power with top management may give rise to the possiblity of abuse of workers, the extreme examples of which happen in sweat shops.

The other extreme is powerful labour unions. The reality of employees duties and responsibilities can be offset by excessively powerful labour unions, with the result that the organiazation suffers, and in cases where vital public services are controlled by such unions, the general public suffers from strikes, etc. Therefore, we have the different aspects of duty, responsibility and just payment, which need to be balanced and fair from both employers and employees side.

So where is the individual worker in all of this? Is he given his due? Is he given ample opportunity to build his society, his country and realize his own capacity as a contributor to the good of the nation and community? Is there a proper balance between his rights and duties? Or is his deserved payment stolen by others? Is his used as a pawn in the power games of trade unions or management? These are questions which are wide and cut across the spectrum of different organizations and industries. They are both general to society as a whole and specific to individuals and organizations.

For Catholics, Workers day is also celebrated as the Feast of St Joseph the Worker, who was the head of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph and a carpenter by profession. The Catholic Church presents St Joseph as the patron of all workers and by honouring St Joseph, the Church recognizes the honour of his profession or carpentry, with which he produced useful works for his community and fed his family. By having a special feast in honour of St Joseph the Worker, the Church also recognizes workers of all professions and the dignity of all labour. It is reality and tragedy that often work, which was meant to provide us what we need has become a status symbol with distinctions in qualities of work and division of people based on the kind of work they do.

Rights, Responsibilities, Work and Worship

For me, employment provides an opportunity to serve organizations and therefore individuals by providing them useful works. The work of our hands can alleviate excessive hardship and solve problems of organizations and individuals. It is no doubt an aspiration of job seekers and workers to find a job where their work is recognized and valuable. It is therefore imperative of us to find skills that we have and areas where we are good and useful. It is of utmost value and satisfaction to find a genuine area of resourcefulness and provide value to customers and/or people.

It is a misconception that work is a punishment sent by God. As a Christian, one cannot deny evils in our professional life that can be due to different reasons. There are hardships and individual struggles, which can make or mar our professional lives. However, work is certainly not a meaningless punishment. Work is something that can be greatly valuable not only directly, but also indirectly. The times of struggle and hardship may not bring you recognition or stars, but that is only temporal and from a human perspective. The believer-God relationship is that of a Father-child, and goes beyond the employer-employee relationship, though these two relationships do not conflict.

Further, as a Catholic and a daily Mass goer, my work is an offering to God. In the earlier days, farmers brought the produce of their fields, fishermen brought fish, bakers brought bread, etc. If you wonder why the priest washes his hands with water, it was quite necessary in the earlier days (imagine the potatoes taken out of the ground). Nowadays, it is a symbolic washing.

As a believer, work for me is either creative or redemptive. Being a software engineer, I write applications through which I share in the creative work of God. Software generally has bugs. By fixing the bugs, I participate in redemptive work of God, where He transforms ordinary things into something better and more beautiful. This applies to any kind of work. When a cook prepares a vegetable, she redeems the ordinary vegetable and makes something special out of it. When a sweeper sweeps the floor, she redeems the dirty place into something better and more beautiful.

Holy Mass – on earth as it is in heaven

For those with faith, the Mass is a Divine liturgy in the presence of angels and saints. If we are attentive to the prayers of the Mass, we will at least notice (though unfortunately many dream or are distracted) that an exchange is happening between God and man. As with the ancient Mayans, or the Vedic priests, a Catholic priest basic duty is to offer sacrifice to God.

The Catholic faith teaches that there is a real sacrifice happening during the Mass. Catholics believe that the Sacrifice that is being made is not bread or wine, but Jesus Christ himself. We believe that the Mass is not symbolic, but genuinely the original Sacrifice of Jesus Christ to the eternal Father on Calvary. I'm not surprised that many find it too much to believe, even many Jews left Jesus when he taught them about this.

The part called offertory, is the time when the wine and water are mixed. This symbolizes Christ's divinity mixing with our humanity and thus transforming it. Imagine if our own works were taken to the altar and offered literally at the Mass. This happens in reality though not physically and I recall my own works at this time of the Mass. Then, at the consecration, Christ becomes present in the bread and wine as it gets transformed into His Body and Blood.

The actual sacrifice of the Mass happens during what is called the doxology:

Through Him, with Him, in Him,
In the unity of the Holy Spirit,
All glory and honour is Your, Almighty Father,
Forever and ever. Amen.

This is the point at which everything is offered to the Father, including the offerings and work of all those present. Those who have offered physically and those who have brought to mind their works and offered to God in their hearts, the work of their hands.

Therefore to summarize, work is a major aspect in todays world. There are many questions about the dignity workers and their responsibility. But all kinds of work and all workers have a great dignity, irrespective of what they do. Most importantly, my Catholic faith is not separate from my work. Rather, I offer my work to God along with my struggles and hardships believing that Jesus joins his own sacrifice to it and offers it to the Father on the Cross, thus transforming my life and my work. This gives me strength to go into the world and continue with my labours each day.

The Power of the Fairytale ending

2010-05-03T01:29:00.014+05:30

On adjacent channels on TV, two Hindi movies on honest cop vs corrupt world were showing – Dayanayak (based on a real life story) and Yashwant (Nana Patekar starrer). The honest cop strikes you with his fierce fight for the cause of justice, sacrificing his own safety and that of his family and putting this interest above all others. The funny thing about such movies is that it takes an idea – that of altruism at the cost great sacrifices and brings it to the masses in the form of a movie.

The irony is that while many psychology and sociology experts, philosophers, celebrities come out with theories based on human self gratification, pursuit of happiness in this world, there are movies for the common public that subscribe to this altruistic morality that stretches beyond doing good for your own family and known circle. This indicates a loss of touch with reality by the experts. You'd find many a common Joe or a plain Jane in the crowd that subscribes to the altruistic morality. During youth, many believe we can do all things, fight injustice and work for the right. With age seems a resignation to the forces of evil and a withering away of the optimism of youth. But even many of those who do not actively fight evil believe in it and appreciate heroism when they see it.

Another point is the presence of good and evil. The honest cop is faced with human innocence and human selfishness and malice at the same time. He has to confront human malice to protect innocent humans. So he cannot possibly lose faith in the goodness of humanity nor lost track of the existence of evil. In both movies, the honest cops confrontations with those on the wrong side of the law bring wrath and start a sequence of events leading to their suspension from duty. So the bad guys win their round, but the honest cop rises again – proves himself innocent and gets reinstated – fairytale ending – final triumph of truth.

Many “experts” miss out the point in the Lord of the Rings and are confounded by its success on being voted the favourite book of the millennium. The “experts” miss out the appeal of the fairytale ending. The underlying thread both grounded in reality and seemingly the stuff of fairytales – the forces of truth seem weak while the forces of evil overwhelmingly powerful. The innocent honest upright fighter for the right cause (Frodo in the Lord of the Rings) main weapon is readiness to sacrifice for the cause of the whole world.

Stupendously, ultimate sacrifice is the very power that the evil mind fails to comprehend. As Galdalf says of Sauron the Dark Lord “Well, let folly be our cloak, a veil before the eyes of the Enemy! For he is very wise, and weighs all things to a nicety in the scales of his malice. But the only measure that he knows is desire, desire for power; and so he judges all hearts. Into his heart the thought will not enter that any will refuse it, that having the Ring we may seek to destroy it. If we seek this, we shall put him out of reckoning.”

How did the honest cop find his way to hit back? It was the folly of his position – without his job or status, he seems to have nothing to threaten the opponents with. However, strength does not fail him and he finds the evidence to prove his innocence. The very nature of this battle is such that it repeats in many lives and in the very depths of our being, we know it is true. We have a conflict in us, especially the more ordinary among us, of a superlative sense of justice missed out by many “experts”. We seem minnows and weaklings in the face of those who take security in their power and status, but if we have sufficient faith and hope, we can turn our defeats into victories, especially for the right causes.

But then, it's not always black and white with human beings. We are drawn to truth and justice, yet we are also pulled to power and status. The human mind is the battleground of the greatest conflict between good and evil. This is where the acceptance of sin and human weakness comes in. This is where the need for a Saviour comes in. This is where the power of the Cross is realized and the meaning of our own lives is realized.

The Cross is where suffering gets its meaning. It is where contradiction and folly become weapons of power. It is where tables are turned and fairytale endings are made possible. And the inner insight of the reality of the fairytale ending overcomes doubt and despair. The rays of the new dawn fill the heart with courage that the innocent Lamb, apparently powerless over the overwhelming dark forces, can trumph, will triumph and has triumphed.

This is the meaning of Easter which is the season celebrated by the Church at this time. It is the power of the final victory. It is the strength to remain steadfast to the end, to fight the good fight, to walk the narrow road. To take on the odds and bet your life that the victory of truth will come no matter how things turn out today. As the song “Rainy Day” from Big Dismal goes:

Love,
It keeps us hanging on,
Even when all hope is gone,
I believe that Your love rains down on me.
Faith,
It carries us away,
It takes us to a place,
Far above this world.
And I can see you in the clouds,
On a rainy day...

Solving the Rubik's cube by Petrus method

2010-04-25T17:18:00.013+05:30

The Rubik's cube is a favourite passtime of our generation. Movie buffs will remember Will Smith solving it in "The Pursuit of Happyness" to land entrance into an internship program, eventually becoming a successful stock broker and founding a brokerage firm in a true rags to riches story.

Smith uses a method called the Petrus method invented by Swedish speed cuber Lars Petrus, currently working in place to get a share of the bounty when you tolerate ads on Google and related sites like gmail, googlegroups, blogger (yes this site) to name a few, read Google. Yes, you can laugh. I learned it from the man himself from his website http://lar5.com/cube .

News is I've uploaded some videos of different steps of the process I took, since at that time, I found fewer videos available for beginners and intermediates on this method. Video's can be watched from here or on Youtube.

People depending heavily on memory be forewarned - this method is logic intensive and doesn't use algorithms till step 5 (last layer). There are several other methods available which use such. The Petrus method is known for requiring fewer steps.

Preliminaries

One common misconception is that you can move stickers around. You can't. The Rubik's cube is not made of 9x6x6 stickers that can be moved independently. It's not made of 27 smaller cubes either.

A Rubik's cube is made of a frame with 6 centres - the centre pieces cannot be moved relative to each other, only twisted. Apart from this, the Rubik's cube has 8 corner pieces and 12 edge pieces.

Step 1 - Build 2x2x2

2x2x2 refers to a corner and the 3 adjacent edges.

Step 2 - Expand to 3x2x2

Now we add an adjacent corner and it's two adjoining edges. Ensure you don't mess up the earlier 2x2x2. Beginners are recommended to hold one hand on the solved portion.

Step 3 - Correct incorrectly twisted edges

This step will save lots of trouble later on. By now, two faces should remain. Observe the colour of the centres of the two unsolved faces. Observe the position of the colour sticker on each of the unsolved edge pieces.

4 rules to determine incorrectly twisted edges:

1. If the edge piece has the same colour adjacent to the center of one of the unsolved faces, it is good
2. If the edge piece has the same colour away from the center of one of the unsolved faces, it is bad
3. If the edge piece has the opposite colour away from the center of one of the unsolved faces, it is good
4. If the edge piece has the same colour adjacent to the center of one of the unsolved faces, it is bad

Step 4 - Solve two layers

Final Layer

Fixing corner positions:

Twisting corners correctly:

Fixing edge positions:

Existence of God - the Moral Argument

2010-01-10T16:19:00.020+05:30

C.S Lewis "Mere Christianity" is a book worth it's weight in gold. As Archbishop Fulton Sheen says, the way to read a book is simliar to eating. You benefit more from it when after reading, you put it aside and "chew" on it.

I was chewing on Lewis arguments in the book and was struck how it corresponds with reality:

The news channel "Headlines today" was full of debates between Chetan Bhagat, the author of a book and Bollywood movie producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra. Chetan was claiming that he deserves recognizition for the story, which he is being denied. Apparently, he mentioned this on his blog and the rest took off from there.

There is clearly a moral dilemma here. But one thing to notice is that by the very act of writing about it on his blog, Chetan is appealing to a common morality which we all have. This is the morality which Lewis speaks of in his book. Another common place I can see Lewis argument is:

A person takes your seat in the queue, you protest that you came first.

This and many other instances in daily life indicate that we can argue or appeal based on the understanding that the listener shares a common morality - sense of justice in this example.

Now, it may be argued that this differs from culture to culture. For example, in the West, it may considered modest for women to wear a skirt, but not expose the midriff, but in India, the sari may worn without it being considered immodest.

The answer to this is that standards like modesty and courage cut across borders, even if the codes may be different. There is no culture, as Lewis argues (and Peter Kreeft in his book "Handbook of Christian Apologetics"), which patronizes immodesty or cowardice.

Origin of standards

So far we have seen that there is a common Moral Law, though moral practices differ. But where do these standards come from?

It cannot come from matter, since matter cannot think, cannot hold two ideas side by side and compare them. It needs a mind to weigh and judge one as better than the other.

It cannot come from the individual, since it is something Universal and does not differ from person to person. We are bound by the Moral Law. We know it to be right and try to explain ourselves when questioned.

If someone asked me why I have taken the place in the queue, I'd give an explanation based on some reason because I feel bound to justify myself.

Therefore, this Moral Law cannot come from the individual.

It may be claimed that this comes from society. Well, if that were true, then what is society? A nation, or ethnic / religious group? Whichever kind of group it may refer to, how can the collection of individuals be right about something which the individual cannot? Society cannot be a source of the Moral Law because it is a Universal Law which consists not of codes of conduct, but underlying principles. Behaviour and dress codes differ across societies, but the underlying principles like courage and modesty do not.

The only possible answer is that they come from something higher than us. This something must have a mind to think of conduct. This something with a mind that is greater than us is perfectly compatible with the Christian concept of God. He is a good God, and a law giver. He loves good and despises evil.

There can be another view here. One may claim the common standards of morality come from one's conscience. But where does conscience get its authority? The possible alternative sources of this authority - matter, the individual and society do not satisfy for the same reasons that they do not satisfy as an explanation for the origin of the Moral Law.

Conscience cannot get it's authority from matter because that would require a mind. Without a mind, moral possibilities cannot be weighed and judged.

Neither can the authority of conscience come from the individual. I cannot bind myself with a law I have invented. If I do, I can quite easily release myself.

Society cannot, either, be the source of the authority of conscience, because:

1. Society is just a collection of individuals. Surely number does not make something right.

2. There are rebel reformers who oppose prevalent social evils, what about reformers who oppose the accepted view.

The Good Law-giver greater than us

Peter Kreeft mentions these in his Moral Argument and Argument from Conscience. And he quite rightly points out that this is only a small portion of what Christians believe as God. A Good Law-giver is still a long way off from the Christian God, but it is certainly compatible with Him, while materialistic view of the Universe does not explain either the origin of the Moral Law or the source of the authority of Conscience.

Finally, whether you are a believer looking for wisdom and clarity, or an agnostic or atheist open to the truth, "Mere Christianity" is one book that would figure on my list "books to read before you die". Still, I rate the "Handbook of Christian Apologetics" as a the best book on Apologetics I have read. A true gem, and it gets my ten on ten.

The World War Pope and the Holocaust

2009-11-01T17:55:00.008+05:30

The Holocaust saw the death of some 6 million Jews. This was probably one of the most gruesome events in our history, when untold suffering was unleashed on the hapless Jews - a systematic and organized extermination fueled by Hitler's madness. Could something have been done to stop this? What about the Pope? Did he do enough? There is a rumour that Pius XII, the then Pontiff, did nothing to save them. Here's a video with newspapers and significant people of that time revealing some truth about this man's life:

As the video shows, the myth that the Pope remained quiet did not start until years after the death of the Pontiff. The play called "The Deputy" tried to spread this fabricated story, with no basis in facts. Today, decades later, such myths propound as much, if not more than facts. This does not do justice to the real person of Eugenio Pacelli, the Pope during the Second World War.

Myths about this historical icon, who defied Hitler are in fact just lies. This man, as a true disciple of Jesus, extended his hand and his heart to the Jews as if they were his own people. This is a witness of love of God and love of neighbour. Pope Pius XII rose to the great challenge for our world - to follow the Truth and live it out in one's concrete life. Not without reason did Israel Zolli, Chief Jewish Rabbi take the name Eugenio, the first name of this Pope, showing his deep respect for this great man.

The Crusades and their Interpretation

2009-10-29T23:10:00.029+05:30

I used to play the game "Age of Empires" years back. In one of the episodes, you get to play Saladin, a general who fought the Crusaders. As you play the game (you are controlling the Persians), you see peasants crying "The Crusaders are attacking our caravans" and "The Crusaders are attacking our trade routes".

Few of us today have studied the historical facts of the Crusades. History tells us that Saladin won the war he was involved in with the Crusaders. It turns out that most of the Crusades after the First failed to achieve their objective - to free Jerusalem from the Muslims and making it available to Christian pilgrims.

Brief Background of the Crusades

Mohamed founded the Muslim religion by preaching about the one God, Allah. He claimed divine revelation from the angel Gabriel. After his death in 632, there was disagreement about succession. The Shia and Sunni divisions we have till today are based on two lines of succession - Ali, nephew of Mohamed and Abr Bakr, one of his closest disciples.

Military conquest expanded Muslim influence. They took Jerusalem in 638 A.D. By 700 they had North Africa and Middle East. Then, they took modern day Turkey. What was then Nicaea is now called Istanbul. So they covered areas all around the Mediterranean, entering Spain and the Iberian Peninsula in 711. By 846, a Muslim raiding party sacked St Pauls outside the walls and St Peter's Basilica. So there was a century long conquest without response.

In 1009 A.D, the church of the Holy Sepulchre, considered the holy shrine, where Jesus is believed to have been buried, was destroyed completely. It was not until 1095, that the First Crusade was dispatched to recapture Jerusalem.

Meet the Crusaders

Leaders all over Europe unanimously agreed that they needed to free Jerusalem for pilgrims to the Holy Land. People from all over Europe gathered and went East via Constantinople fighting different armies on their way to Jerusalem. The Holy City was captured by 1099.

Military historians agree that if the Crusaders went further, they could have dealt a blow to the communication center of the Muslim world and prevented them from recuperating, ensuring holding Jerusalem for long. But their objective was to make it possible for pilgrims to visit they holy places in Jerusalem, so they stopped there. Successive Crusades hardly achieved their desired goals. Saladin successfully defended Jerusalem and sent back the armies from Europe.

The Muslims expanded further in the centuries after the First Crusade, capturing Bulgaria and Serbia by 1390. Constantinople was next, captured in 1453. In 1492 they were beaten back from Spain, but they advanced from the Eastern side of Europe. After the lands around Black Sea, their land and sea assault challenged many lands. Their pirates sacked towns in Great Britain and Iceland about 1500. They laid Vienna to siege in 1529. In 1571 in the there was a great naval battle of Lepanto near Italy, where a a fleet of hundreds of ships fought on either side. Eventually, the Holy League defeated the Ottoman Turks, bringing lasting security.

Regensberg Speech - Pope Benedict XVI

The history of military conflict goes on, but the above summary of history between the 7th and 16th centuries, suffices for our context - the conversation quoted by Pope Benedict XVI in his speech at Regensberg, Germany. The Pope quoted a conversation between the Byzantine emperor and an educated Persian. The emperor spoke about a verse in the Koran, sura 2:256. He spoke about the differences between Christianity and Islam.

During those days, the language was more brusque than it is today. The emperor spoke with the background of the violent history of Islam and said that violence is not needed to spread religion. At Regensberg, Pope Benedict XVII was speaking about this conversation in an academic setting. The intent was not to attack Muslims by any means. However, the media quoted what the Byzantine emperor said as if the Pope himself said it. Put plainly, it is an instance of something taken right out of context. This is the cause for misinterpretation that we know, leading to much violence.

The Evolution Debate

2009-10-24T11:43:00.011+05:30

When the topic of Evolution comes up, there are two extreme opinions. One side says that no evolution could have happened because everything was created by God in 6 days. So Evolution is completely impossible. The other side regards Evolution as established truth. For people in this second category, Evolution has conclusively proved the Bible wrong. It seems that one has to choose between the two views. I beg to differ.

Evolution and the existence of God

There is a major confusion about the connection between Evolution and the existence of God. I say that Evolution need not exclude the possibility of God's existence. Rather, it is completely compatible with the existence of God, the Creator. It is not Evolutionists, rather materialists that take the extreme view that Evolution has proved the Theistic claim false.

There is an interesting point that is worthy of note about the compatibility between the so called book religions or Western religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) and Evolution. In both, there is a progression from simple forms to more complex creatures, not the other way around. Only one stream of evolution, a materialistic evolution that happens ultimately by chance is incompatible with belief in a Creator. But evolution is not limited to that interpretation.

Insufficient data

The survival of the fittest presumes the arrival of the fit. Natural selection gives a reasonable explanation about why animals with particular characteristics like moths of a given colour, give way to those having a different colour over a period of time. This much can and has if I'm not mistaken, been measured and observed. But for one species to lead to another is quite another matter - it is a giant leap to take, not backed by sufficient data. And to conclude that this "Origin of Species" happens by complete chance, just on its own? Someone explain the rationale behind this kind of assumption.

We are speaking as if Evolution is established fact. This is not completely true. The test of any scientific theory is empirical data. Anthropologists have found some fossil records of species with different levels of development. However, they have not found sufficient intermediate species to show a clear progression from simple to complex life forms. When the relationships between different elements was expressed as the periodic table, there was some data to show it possible. Later, when missing elements were found, it corroborated what was earlier a possible and plausible explanation. Honest examination of the data for Evolution does not yield the same clarity and prove it indisputable.

Mind over matter?

Here's a mock dialogue with a blind chance Evolutionist:

Evolutionist: Evolution has proved the Bible wrong

Rebel: So you're convinced Evolution is proven fact. You say we all came from apes?

Evolutionist: Yes, we are all products of Evolution. Accept defeat.

Rebel: Why should I?

Evolutionist: You ought to be convinced. It's clean enough to my mind? Doesn't yours.

Rebel: Ah, so you trust your mind, and expect me to trust mine? And you say these evolved by blind chance?

Almost every sane person (in fact even an insane person) trusts his mind. So we believe our minds have a positive ability to understand and know truth chance. It begs the acceptance of deliberate intentional design to direct a possible Evolution to yield our human species.

The Great Mind and our existence

In the true scientific spirit, the search for evidence to verify Evolution - exploring, discovering and examining the data that corroborates or refutes it will continue. Nevertheless, the fact that we exist here on earth and can think and reason bears witness to the fact that there is a Great Mind that willed us to be here. We are deliberately bestowed with intelligence - to be able to think, reason, invent, improve our lives, both individual and collective.

The Galileo Controversy

2009-04-05T00:04:00.009+05:30

Many people believe that the Catholic Church persecuted Galileo for his heliocentric theory, forcing him to recant. I recently read an excellent article about the Commons - software, literary and artistic products here. While praising the sharing of ideas, and intellectual freedom, the author writes:

Scientists learn from very early in their training the faults of suppressing information, perhaps most iconically in the person of Galileo Galilei, who published evidence supporting the Copernican theory that the planets orbited the Sun (primarily his observations of Jupiter’s satellites), and was proscribed and forced to recant his beliefs by the Catholic Church.
Scientists view Galileo in heroic terms, and the Church’s resistance to the Copernican theory was ultimately futile. Without the Copernican theory, we’d have never made it to the Moon. So it is fitting that Galileo’s famous hammer and feather experiment was actually demonstrated by Cmdr. Dave Scott at the Apollo 15 landing site on the Moon.

Galileo is presented as the person who proved the Copernican theory, and the Church as anti-scientific and out-dated. Since neither you nor I were present then, we can only understand about the facts if we delve a little deeper.

Myth #1: The Catholic Church hates science

Scientific discoveries require funding to be sustainable. The Church funded many scientific discoveries over the centuries and many eminent scientists where priests, for example, Georges Lemaitre, who proposed the big bang theory; or religious or sponsored by the Catholic Church. Nicholas Copernicus, who proposed the heliocentric theory was a canon of a Cathedral, and dedicated his work to Pope Paul III. These are just a couple of examples from a whole list of priest scientists.

Myth #2: The Church was afraid that science would prove the Bible wrong

The Church did not immediately endorse Copernicus theory, because She decided to proceed with caution until things were proved conclusively. This is because the Church believes She has been entrusted with the mission by Jesus Christ, to safeguard the truth, so that people may not be misled. So proceeding with prudence, She did not change her stance before time.

The Church does not say that the Bible is a scientific or historical book. Though it contains these aspects, it was written with the intention of showing God's creative, redemptive and salvific action in human history, containing stories, wisdom and lessons to teach people. So interpretation of Scripture should be in the context of what it was written.

Myth #3: Though scientists knew that heliocentric theory was true, the Church rejected it

The accepted theory, not within the Catholic Church at the time, but among scientists, was towards geocentricism. Even Copernicus delayed the publication of his work because he feared ridicule from his colleagues. The Church did not interfere with science first. It was Galileo who interfered with religion first. He said that on the basis of his theory, the Bible is wrong. This was what the Church officials took exception to, not the theory itself. Even so, his trial and arrest were unwarranted.

Myth #4: Galileo was attacked though he did not provoke anyone

Galileo went to Rome to get Church approval, since this would guarantee good publicity for his work. The then pope, Urban VIII, was a friend of Galileo, and agreed.

Galileo placed a character of his making, called Simplicio in the book, who was a kind of joker and fool, and had Simplicio speak the Pope's words. The Pope felt mocked and insulted and Galileo was tried by a court.

Myth #5: The Pope's reaction contradicts papal infallibility

First, papal infallibility is applicable when the Pope is speaking in his public and official capacity as spiritual head of the Universal Church. This happens rarely, for example in the case on a canonization or the promulgation of a dogma. It is not applicable outside this realm, and certainly not in Galileo's case.

Second, the subject of the proclamation should be with regard to faith and morals, which was certainly not true in this case.

Also, the Pope should make a solemn proclamation to be held by all the faithful, and there are well defined, unambiguous formulas in which such teachings are made.

Finally, Papal infallibility is a charisma, personal to the Pope, not communicated to another. But in Galileo's case, the Pope did not personally conduct the trial, rather a certain Cardinal Bellarmine conducted it.

Myth #6: Galileo was tortured into submission by the Church

The reason matters went to such a stage was because of the personal reaction of Pope Urban to what he perceived as Galileo's mockery. Yet, quite contrary to belief, Galileo was treated very well when under house arrest, and was well provided for. The Church does not deny that Galileo's case should not have resulted in arrest and recently, Pope John Paul II apologised for the mistreatment of Galileo, though it was just a personal overreaction of a previous Pope, acting on his own, and outside the scope of his role as pastor of the Church.

Read more at Catholic Answers

What's your philosophy?

2009-03-11T21:47:00.011+05:30

Everyone has a philosophy of life - things one believes and makes decisions by - things which guide one's point of view of people, reactions to people, handling pressure situations, dealing with personal losses, success/failure at work, financial losses, death of a near relative, and so on. People may or may not call it philosophy, but everyone has ways of drawing opinions and conclusions.

A good philosophy comes from a good mind - a mind which thinks rationally. One's ideas and opinions may change over the course of one's life, especially when coming across other ideas, exploring other horizons. So the question is:

Does philosophy make a difference?

Philosophy does make a difference. The holocaust was a negative and dark chapter of our history. The murderous ideas that caused these killings and tortures ware the fruits of an evil tree that grew in evil soil - the mind of Adolf Hitler. After the takeover of the government of Germany, Hitler executed his idea that "only Arian's should live" on all those Jews, infirm, aged, with the cost of so many lives. To some, the holocaust is a chapter of history, a thing of the past. For some, who lost their relatives under the Nazis, it is a gruesome and evil memory and experience. But the pains and sufferings borne during that time will leave a permanent scar.

It is much easier, it must be said, to speak of an event so long ago, and learn lessons from it. So what lessons can be learned then?

It matters what one thinks about life

It matters what one thinks about keeping promises

It matters what one thinks about time

It matters what one thinks about morality

It matters what one thinks about "is my life my own"

It matters what one thinks about God

It matters what one thinks about death and after

But when the lessons apply to one's own life, introspection can reveal that under pressure or pain, one struggles to live up to one's philosophy. Socrates was one man who deserves great respect. He said "the unexamined life is not worth living". He believed that virtue was essential and sufficient for happiness. The crowning glory of his life, is that he died for his convictions.

Christmas tree for children

2009-01-08T15:13:00.015+05:30

On the Sunday before Christmas, we the animators at Sunday school together with the children organized a Christmas tree celebration with cultural events. The day started with Holy Mass, with the reading from the Bible about the angel announcing the good news to Mary that she would bear a Son, Jesus, who will save people from their sins. The choir, composed of children led us to sing lively hymns as we celebrated the mysteries of the sacrifice of Christ together. I especially love the words of the final blessing, when we ask God that we may be ready when Jesus comes.

My class of First Communicant children prepared a play. It was the first time I (co-)directed a play. I got help with the script and with direction from fellow parish youth. It went off better than I hoped, what with scrambling in practices where I could find scraps of time on Saturdays and the rare holiday in between. The photos are uploaded and I thought I'd share them:

A side view of the play. Dialogue between father and daughter (seated) played by Alton and Megan. My co-animator and co-director for the skit, Devin and children in the background (not visible from where the audience is seated)

The voice-overs doing their part: (L-R) Naomi, Ayushi, Sunil and Freddy (second row)

Joseph and Mary (played by Jude and Diana) look for a place for Jesus to be born

Joseph and Mary with the baby Jesus. Angels (Daniel, Aquilla and Suzanna) are behind. Rag-pickers (Leonard, Rahul and John) come to see Him.

Colours of the season

2008-12-24T11:35:00.015+05:30

It's been many months and it is this time of the year again, the time of joy. For years the people of Israel waited for the fulfillment of God's promise of a Saviour. The promise that was made to Adam and Eve. The prophesies that were made by Isaiah, of a suffering servant, who would bear the suffering of the people. The promise to King David, that his descendant will rule forever.

The Church recalls the joyful mysteries leading up to the birth of our Lord Jesus, starting with the Annunciation - angel Gabriel announcing to the Blessed Virgin Mary, saying:

"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.
Behold, you will conceive and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom, there will be no end.

The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High overshadow you. Therefore the son to be born will be called holy, the Son of God"

- the Gospel according to Luke, 1:28,31-33,35

This is read on the Sunday before Christmas (21st December this year). It is indeed Mary's response to this, that makes Christmas possible:

"Behold, I am the handmaid or the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word."

- Luke 1:38

Mary was given to us as our Mother by Jesus, and She intercedes for our needs. Who would not run to a mother when in need, especially a mother so loving, patient and kind, so holy and clothed in virtue? I have always much to thank her for, and to ask her for.

Marian blue and white

Much has Mary helped me and much is the love in Her immaculate heart. Last week, I visited the shrine of Our Lady of Health, Vailankanni, in the state Tamil Nadu, South India. As the bus approached the place, little children from the seat behind cried in excitement "we've reaced Vailankanni". I had been to Vailankanni as a child, and my memory of that visit is very faint. But it was a blessing to be there at this time, in penitential prayerful preparation for the coming of Jesus. There I beheld the beautiful, heavenly Shrine of our Lady in all white, like heaven. It is a beautiful piece of Gothic architecture, built by Portuguese merchants, in gratitude to the Virgin Mary, to whom they prayed in a storm at sea, and were saved.

Christmas red and green

Now, back home, it is time to decorate the house for Christmas. Time to cover the house with red and green. The evergreen tree remains in the winter, while other trees wither. Green symbolizes eternal life, promised by Jesus. Red symbolizes the Precious blood Jesus came to shed for our sins, which is the reason God came to be born as a child.

In our house we have put up a tree, crib and star. The crib is a re-creation of the stable of Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. Statues of Mary and Joseph, with cows, donkeys, sheep are placed inside. On Christmas day, the statue of the baby Jesus is placed. A statue of an angel is placed singing "Gloria to God in the Highest". There are statues of shepherds who hear from angels that Jesus is born and go to see him.

Hail Priest, Prophet and King

The famous Christmas carol "We three kings of Orient are" helps us remember the Magi or Wise men, who came to visit Jesus. Actually, we do not know how many were there, but we know that they brought three gifts. Traditionally, they are called Gaspar, Melchior and Balthazar. They brought gifts of gold, which is for a king, frankincense, which is for a priest and myrrh, which is a symbol of death.

Click here to see my poem for Christ the King.

Preparing for Christmas

2008-12-20T10:10:00.006+05:30

For some it is a public holiday. For others it is a time to enjoy, party and be merry. For others, it is a time to make more business. The first Christmas was a singularly special time in the history of humanity. God chose to be born as a helpless little infant. Below is a highly recommended Youtube video about "Jesus, reason for the season":

The Church prepares herself during this season of Advent (Advent means coming) for the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We remember His birth 2000 years ago during this time. The Mass readings are from the books of the prophets, about the coming of Jesus, Saviour, King and Messiah.

The readings are also about God working in people's lives and giving children to barren women. Yesterday, it was about the birth of Samson, and the birth of John the Baptist. After a lot of prayer, God promised that the mothers would bear sons, and these sons were dedicated to God and made a difference in the history of their time.

The Creator and the creation

2008-08-09T20:18:00.003+05:30

All the good things I am blessed with are because of God's infinite mercy and love. It is the same with all of us, whether we acknowledge it or not. I realize that instead of going after the good things in my life, I should rather turn to the Author and Maker of all these good things. So I pray that however I live, I may always turn my heart to God, because without Him I can do nothing. I pray to Mary, my Blessed Mother, that she may teach me always to be grateful to my Heavenly Father for all He has given and blessed me with.

Death, where is your sting

2008-08-09T20:04:00.003+05:30

The last couple of days have been special. On Thursday, I attended the funeral service of a relative, and yesterday (Friday), I missed the morning Mass because I came back home late the previous day. However, I had a pleasant surprise waiting for me when I went to attend the monthly Serra Club meeting in the evening - it was the Holy Sacrifice for the repose of the mother of a member of the club.

These services helped me remember about what death is for me. Believing in Jesus, I can say as Fr Eric C.Ss.R said in his Friday homily, what happens after death does not matter so much. Who we meet after death is what matters. And I know that it is my Lord, full of compassion and love, slow to anger and abounding in mercy.

Walking forward together

2007-04-17T16:04:00.001+05:30

What is life without the struggle,
Without a youth to seek fresh waters,
Without the pains or pressures of our day,
Without knowing the crosses of men.

I don't want to be cut off from the pain,
The pain of a generation of sufferers,
No, there is nothing of a brother or sister,
That I want to be shielded from.

For as a young one learns the hardness of life,
He realizes he is not alone in the struggle,
But that he depends on many, and they on him.
Every smile and good thought brings sunshine.

Wayfarers it seems, we all are,
Journeyers into the dusk on a tired trek,
What can I hope to pack along with me?
What can I hope to keep and treasure?

I'm a begger of mercy and grace,
A grace that gives me hope to live,
My tomorrow and yours can surely be bright,
If we give to one another what we have.

When the wells of peace and joy dry,
Let our eyes turn Heavenward,
For we cannot drain out one another,
Rather be strengthened as a people.

I look for peace to reign today,
I have peace to offer you, friends,
Prayer, my fountain and guiding light,
Teaches, pacifies and fulfills me.

Work and life

2007-02-23T15:03:00.002+05:30

I had posted earlier about sanctity as the current in the river of my life. What is the part of work in this? For me, work is a necessity in my life towards holiness. I need to work in an offering to my Heavenly Father, with complete trust, giving Him all that I have each day. Starting from the time I received education, I have to continue to practice virtue while I work and toil, trying to learn and grow as my Heavenly Father makes possible. I need to be prepared to take on the difficulties which may present themselves during the course of my professional life, always taking care to be at peace with people I work with.

The most valuable food for me is the words which my Lord Jesus Christ offers me with respect to living the Gospel. He teaches me through His own life as a carpenter, making furniture for people. He is a man of honour, though sometimes it seems in the Gospel that being a "carpenter's son" means that people do not receive His words even if He speaks exactly as the Father and the Holy Spirit inspire Him.

Seeking paradise

2006-04-18T13:33:00.001+05:30

I'm writing from a cafe in Kalamassery on a hot summer afternoon. There's little opportunity to post on the net since connections are slow here. It is a most blessed life for those who seek it. So it means that not everyone finds this same joy abounding.

Perspectives matter more in life than anything else. Last night we watched a movie on St Bernadette, the saint to whom the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in a then nondescript French village, Lourdes. The dean said to the skeptic imperial prosecutor (appointed by the emperor to put in prison violators of the law) -

"For those who believe in God, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not, no explanation is possible."

Therefore, what one sees in life is based completely upon one's openness to Divinity. Certainly, many pass through life without believing there is any good in doing good. I do not attempt to convince anyone to the contrary if such are not open to Divinity. As for me, if there is no God or Divinity, there is nothing in human life at all.

I studied well and became an engineer. Providence provided this education and a good rewarding job. Providence would give me a wonderful opportunity to show the greatness of my faith. Heaven presented me the high road to realizing my life's purpose and fullness - to be like God our Heavenly Father. This was my calling and remains the most momentous message of my life, the call to follow Jesus Christ.

"You can live your life as if nothing is a miracle or you can live it as if everything is."

Indeed, believing comes before anything. Faith is the necessary precursor to grace and blessing. My life and yours can only work in blessing if we offer ourselves into Divine hands. Faith then is a relationship with one infinitely faithful. Knowing Divine faithfulness, we are called to be faithful ourselves, never give up on God.

Celibacy and religious life is like a call to marry God. It can be like a woman or man marrying his beloved and being called to be faithful. The woman or man may not see his or her beloved for many days, years or the whole life. Yet, the person is challenged to remain faithful even though people may pass rumors that the beloved is unfaithful.

I once met a newly wed young man who's wife had to leave immediately to Australia. He said they were getting closer through that experience. In the case of consecration to religious life, one does not see the loved one, yet called to be faithful. Experiences of God may or may not come. Even if they do, they may be rare.

To be a religious is a marriage sublime and Divine. It needs a far greater generosity than human marriage. Contrary to what many believe, it is possible to be faithful in such a relationship because Christ says "My grace is sufficient for you." Therefore, we need to continually seek this Divine grace to remain faithful till our end.

We should not stop at religious vows. It is only the beginning and we start this journey seeking to be close to God and communicate with Him. We should seek Him with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength. This is the way to perfection of love. This is the answer to the brotherly love the world needs too. For to love God one loves ones neighbour.

Oven fresh poems

2006-01-13T16:44:00.001+05:30

Two poems I just composed today, both for the unborn children. Here they are for you:

Standing for life

What is life?
To the skeptic?
To the hopeful?
To you and me?

The skeptic says it is hopeless,
That there is no worth in it
That the world is hell
That life is meaningless.

The hopeful says
It has a purpose,
It is beautiful and good,
Not for something tangible,
But life itself.

Our Creator made us,
Each muscle and sinew,
We were fearfully knit,
In our mother's womb.

So why destroy that very treasure,
unparalleled magnificence and art,
Why bathe our streets in blood
And let them cry out?

Those who learned nothing but Truth,
Who did not learn our world's ways
Who remained in innocence
Purer than crystal clear water.

So let us join and take a stand,
You and I today,
To be renewed each day,
For a tomorrow, their tomorrows.

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

Falling from a precipice

I was standing
At the end of the rock
I was staring far away
I'm your baby, falling from a precipice

It's miles below,
That step to life.
My touching the floor
Is my being born

Who will help me
Through that tender step
My God placed you
To bring me into the world

I'm falling now
Will I meet hard stone?
I'm falling now
Will I meet open arms?

Dad mum, do you hear me?
Do you hear the sound of love?
I can hear you great
I'm surrounded by beauty

Bathing in God's Love,
My creation, this wonderful thing,
To be just to be waiting now
Waiting to see you near.

Come and take me to you
Let's be forever true in this world
Come take me again
Lift me up to your bosom

My Father speaks now,
This is what He says of me,
This child will be a light,
A joy and beautiful peace.

Like my Son, who came,
Is this child in my image,
Take him to you now,
Do not kill this gift from me.

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

Do you hear them speak anything to you??

The year glass turns

2006-01-02T16:19:00.001+05:30

During the hours leading up to the midnight of the last day of 2005, I get dressed and prepare for the new year. The day was spent in some evening shopping. I needed to use a gift voucher which was the prize for the company quiz at Perot, my company. After looking up some gifts at a gift shop on a long walk with mum, our efforts brought us no fruit as the scheme was withdrawn from gift shops and they could not sell items in exchange for the coupons.

Now was the time for me to pay a visit to Sapna book house, one I had never before visited, despite it being the largest book house in India. So it was an interesting visit, one for which I was keen and looking forward to. The city transport service bus took me to the busy hub in the old part of Bangalore city, with the overlooking combination of colonial and modern building. Here were the bazaars of all kinds of goods. The grey market selling all kinds of electronic goods, computer software and the like was right here. Janata bazaar, Hong Kong bazaar, the numerous sounds and sights, narrow walkways, people going here and there, some to spend an evening outside the house, some vendors and street sellers.

The city is invaded by commercial and advertisements, thanks to bigger pockets generated by higher paying jobs and foreign investment in local labor, especially the intellectual and verbal kind (meaning software and BPO's). So big pockets mean that people can spend more too and when people need to know what to spend on, the companies are always there to spread their fragrances and sights, inviting people. So in your day there is a multitude of invitations. Do this, go here, take this credit card, buy this, test ride that and the list is endless.

My walk took me to the Sapna book store and with some help, I found the place. I walked up the stairs to there and found as I entered various categories of shelves neatly stacked with books in an easy to find category wise classification. So it was easy to get what I would have wanted. However, I wanted to buy something and not something in particular. So I went around looking at what the store had to offer.

A dictionary was a worthwhile investment, so I decided and I chose a 6th edition Oxford dictionary. I had a look at a reverse dictionary. This was interesting. I found the concept very interesting and I began to appreciate it. The reverse dictionary contains words related to a certain context or domain. Words classified by an area of study are together under a category. So gardening words will be under the gardening entry. This is very useful for writing articles or giving talks and the like. I certainly am interested, but my sense of waiting for a better time prevails and I leave the section and buy a book on short stories from Anthony D'Mello, since I heard a friend mention the author's works as interesting reading material.

The way back home was another journey by bus and I reached the stop near home. The night was dark as the lights were out in our area. Returning with the items, we prayed together in familial togetherness and had a nice dinner too. In the time that remained, I tested out the ubuntu Linux Live CD I got from the book store. Booting our PC, I was delighted to see that the Linux came up without any problems, without having to install. The live CD idea is neat, to say the least and even without installing anything on my hard drive, I had an operating system running on our PC. Having had a good look at the look and feel of the system, I enjoyed the wonderful styling of the Ubuntu desktop and the way the menu was sorted into categories. I felt promise of running movies and music on the system and liked the fact that it is well supported and easy to use.

Once the system was down, we set off for our beloved Church and headed for the midnight mass. This was a lovely and meaningful way to start the new year. I was pleased to be able to thank God for all the wonderful things that He has done in my life during the past year. This year is one I really look forward to. It brings with it new challenges, an untrodden path for me, unfamiliar waters for my heart and mind. The one foundation is a commitment to Christ and the rest is based upon this surest of foundations.

The past year was the one that I came to know of the Institute which is one with my heart and soul. It is my soul mate in a deep sense because it echoes the voice of my innermost being as my innermost being echoes its voice. United in purpose and meaning, I extend my hands in joining the mission to bring the lost to the faith and the Church. The church in each person may be in a state of destruction and defeat. The defeatist tendencies of our age are negative because of negative roots and emotions and selfish ends. May the evergreen values of love, generosity and gentleness reign in our planet. May creation, nature be preserved and appreciated and enjoyed. May genuine beauty be enjoyed rather than selfish enjoyment which hurts another. Let us awake to a new freedom. This is my prayer and I join in the prayers of all those who hope good for this planet, who wish to do their bit to make it a better place.

Finally, let me thank all those people who made this past year so special. Let me thank my father for his presence and his guidance and his example. Let me thank my mother for her perseverance in doing her bit each day, the food, the house and the family. Let me thank my brother for the moments of joy and times of fun and sports we had. Let me thank my mates in office with whom I have spent more time than elsewhere. Let me also thank the special people I met and whom I admire for their optimism, virtue, talent, generosity, loving nature and cheerfulness even in pain. Thank you because you are God's gift to me. Thank you God, because my life is everything it is because of you. You will never be finished with blessing me because of your great love. I love you Father!!

Merry "Christ"mas with turkey and friends

2005-12-27T10:18:00.002+05:30

Hello and Merry Christmas 2005,

"Christ"mas 2005 was surely Christ filled, though for me, that's imperative since everything in my life is Christ filled. I belong to Christ and He to me not only today but everyday. It's been a while since I had the anguish of missing the Eucharist, but that happened yesterday. After the 24th midnight Mass, I had little sleep and went 41 hours without Holy Communion. I finally had communion at yesterday's evening Mass. Anyway, Christ I know now, is inseparable from me.

The Christmas day was memorable and some of the memories are visual. Those visual memories, or photos, I share here with you:

Our Crib - The Nativity

For the palates, there was cooked Turkey (not roast, quite soft to eat) and thanks to friends and mates from RV College, was most memorable and sweet. The lunch was wonderfully prepared and laid my mummy and most pleasing to look at. The mouth-watering menu included cooked Turkey (Indian style, Mangalore special - Indad) and Pulav (rich and tasty with dry fruits), Mutlin, and "Dukra mas".

Well, I invite you to identify the who's who at the table and the what's what on the table. Look at the picture and I promise an undisclosed reward for all entries.

Thanks to my friends, Vineeth and Deepak, the day was especially special. What better occasion to have a lunch with thickest (thick and thin), closest, bosom friends. Vineeth is a buddy who's been like one wonderful always present friend who may have given me gifts and help, but most of all the best memories of University college are his best gifts to me.

Deepak and I did the project together and along with Vineeth, he has been both personally and at work, a close and thick friend. Vineeth works for Emuzed and Deepak works for the giant IBM India. Most memorable was the time we spent on our semester projects. Both of the projects were great experiences for us and thanks to that wonderful experience, we grew from each other in a most constructive way.

Thanks to them for coming over and sharing in our joy.

Meet Vineeth:

Thanks Vineeth, for coming and for the beautiful photos.

And Deepak:

Thanks Deepak, for you awesome greeting with such meaningful words.

Well, unfortunately I appear in both pictures, adding to the number of visible teeth :).

Grand uncle Greg was here and shared our joy. Thanks to him for coming and joining our celebrations.

There is no end with Christ and our joy continues...

Isaiah 9:2 - The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.

Isaiah 9:6 - For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Isaiah 9:7 - Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and for evermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

No end indeed to the joy and presence of God. No end in space - not to be left in the stable or the Church, but to live as love in us. No end in time, since He is for ever and He lives and rules for ever, He is alive and His Word is alive and active, sharper than a two edged sword and His Spirit reveals the Truth about God, the Paraclete He has promised, which teaches us and confirms His teaching, writing His law in our hearts, so that all learned and practiced law is united with Him and makes our law and lives perfect.

No end indeed...

Can I ever have enough of God?

2005-12-16T15:56:00.004+05:30

I always believed that God is close to all people and loves us madly. I am completely crazy about this love of God and it fills my heart, mind and intellect to such a degree that I seek to be in unity with my Creator and with all humanity through bonds that have no boundary and love that cannot be held inside any vessel. God excites me like nothing else and I simply am restless to know and learn the lessons in Philosophy and thought, Catholic Church teachings and love. I see this two thousand year plus old institution in such a fresh light that it excites me more than anything else ever.

I not only think that I have to learn, I think that what I know, or for that matter what any person knows, is pale and insignificant in comparison to what there is to know. I think that the simple followers of love, like the Saints, Therese of Lisieux and Saint Francis De Sales for instance were so immersed in this love of God that the words they had inside them were, even without intellectual effort, far more true and deep and at the same time beautiful than anything possible by human search. This is God's gift to us, the ability to see, in Unity with Him, the great infinitude of the Universe and the unfathomable truths.

All Creation Searches for God

2005-11-14T12:37:00.001+05:30

Listen to your heart, says Bryan Adams, picturing the love story of Robin Hood and his love. The song tries to capture to love between the friend of the poor and his beloved. The Peace Pilgrim said I searched for God in churches and everywhere, finally I found him in all things that is beyond us, the creative force behind all things. In Paulo Coelho's beautiful book, "The Alchemist", a shepherd finds the soul of the Universe and the soul of man being united. Hinduism talks of the atma(soul) and the paramatma(great soul).

Sometimes one may wonder. If I am convinced about my faith in Jesus Christ, could God have given me a Catholic birth and another a different birth? How would that equate to the great good? Well, the answer is simple. You can be born in an island and find no church, no temple, no synagogue, no mosque, no stupa, no whatever. Yet, we are created by our Divine master, the master of all things. This is a great creator who has placed in each of our souls, the desire to know and love God.

It is this desire of us people that causes great wise men to leave the pleasures of money or material wealth and seek God far away. It is this desire that causes great conquerors like Alexander the Great to say to his friend - I have conquered so many lands and so many men are in my command. Yet, deep inside, I have an incompleteness and feel no satisfaction. Our human person is not just a machine. Even if it were a machine, the human body is amazing when you consider how it grows from an embryo and how the heart beats - nothing like a human heart has been created. How the mind works - so amazing with so much imagination.

Yet, the human person is more than a body. More than a body and mind. A complete human person is a body, mind, soul and spirit. Yet, this soul is not isolated from other things. Rather, it is the soul that seeks the prefection. One who listens to his soul sees far beyond reason or logic. The eyes of the soul seek the perfect, the greatly good, the most beautiful and lovely, the powerful and yet humble truth. This is the search of truth.

Like Pilate in the movie "The Passion of the Christ" says "quid est veritas" - or what is truth? We all say inside? What is truth? What is the purpose of living? Jesus Christ taught many people - among them were sinners and prostitues too. Of special note is the fact that there were these groups of people publicly known as sinful, who were touched my the teaching of Christ and followed this teaching, even though their past was coloured by franatic search for temporary pleasure and things that pass.

It is this search in every man, in every generation, in every human person. The human soul is restless until finally at the end of time, it rests forever in its creator, God himself!! For me, everything around is a testimony of this search. Science is the search of truth, yet following experimentation as proof of any fact. This is science. For example, Stephen Hawking, considered a great teacher and authority in Relativity, says in the first chapter of "A Brief History of Time" -

"We shall never be satisfied until we find finally, an answer to all the mysteries of the universe". This is the search of science - a complete explanation of every thing that is so beyond our world, that we strive endlessly to. I do love these words of Hawking because the soul in every person can be seen in writings by people from fields so different from one another. This search can be seen in people in lands far away, who met different people and knew different systems of thought.

Each man or woman seeks love. Why? Life feels changed completely when one finds true love. Yet, love is not imperfect, but simply beyond human logic and reason. No person can master love and tell it what to do. It defies logic because it can do things that no logic can do. What is perfect love? An important distinguishing attribute of perfect love is sacrifice and unselfishness. Love is truly tested when it is difficult to love. When it hurts to give, if one can love, then that love is a reflection of the Divine love. The soul of man can find true love in surrender to the Spirit of truth, the Divine master, the Creator and all-powerful. The perfection of all things comes to the great altar in love.

Into that heaven of freedom

2005-11-09T12:33:00.001+05:30

Hi all my dear friends and readers,

When a person decides in terms of a life-long commitment for his or her life, it involves a great decision of fidelity for the rest of that persons life. What thought goes into such a decision, one can hardly fathom. But fathom I did and the result is a life-long commitment to go where my soul searches into the vast depths of truth that lie beyond. Here I am at the shores of a new life, a life that gives new breath along the way. I am at the threshold of a great new journey that will continue till my last breath, continue till the end. In fact, this end is even beyond my death.

If you have had quite a bit of poetic language already, do not expect it to stop!! My life has always been poetic and I have always been the optimistic romantic, full of hope and faith. This poem that is my life has as its next chapter, my decision to embrace the religious life. This is the step that I am taking to the wedlock of Jesus Christ. Take another breath if you cannot quite believe what you just read. Take yet another breath. Yes, and another.

What???? Really???????? How ... How on earth ... Where did that come from???????? A bolt in the blue?????? ...... Jesus Christ!!!!!

Before you start wondering about the details, let me tell you the story. In April this year, Fr Robert and I met in the most unbelieveable of circumstances. He is an American of Spanish origin. He told me about what I still cannot believe I heard in this life. He told me that God has this message for us -

"Be holy, my child, as I am holy"

What this message means to me is that I am called to be pure in heart and chaste in mind, called to unselfish and generous, loving to all and firm in virtue always.

But who would have thought that this is possible in this generation? Who would have thought that this could be feasible? I thought this was good enough to leave my work and all. But, I knew that I was being good by working well and being a good friend at work and a good son at home and a good spouse if I am married, being a good servant in my church community, doing charity, stripping myself of pride and prejudice, working to strive to follow the life of Christ as in the Gospels (the Gospels are the life of Jesus Christ, found in the Holy Bible).

What this father told over email was that I continue to work here in Bangalore and continue to grow in holiness. I started a Spiritual Examination, to share with him my faults and weakness, the temptations that caused me to sin, and all evil and prejudice in my heart. He helped me fight the evil thoughts in my heart and mind, the tempations, especially the sexually explicit media that we all combat each day.

Despite my failures, these people were extremely generous and always treated me with great love and affection. I went to Cochin twice. I learned that this Fr Rob actually was studying and working and planned to live a married life and did not know much about true fidelity to God or had not really considered it seriously. Yet, he, like so many others in this congregation have their own professions. (congregation is the word for a group of priests who have a way of living and live in a community with an organizational structure of its own and ideals of its own for evangelization and helping of poor/uneducated/or any group of people and so on). What I learned was that I could continue in the field of profession that I would otherwise, but that the work of God would be the first priority.

The main challenge for me was to sacrifice my other priorities on the altar of serving God and his people, to bring the love of our heavenly Father to those whom I meet and know. This was always in my heart like any of you know when you do charity of any kind, the joy you get for yourself, even if no other knows about the charity. All of us have this innate tendency to love and seek true love and good relationships and true wisdom, true meaning in what we do. I believe I am on the path of finding what for me personally is the true way.

Do read this poem which expresses the search of my life:

Searched I for happiness in cities great,
Shining and shimmering coins of gold,
All that the world flashed with pomp,
Money, materials and public fame.

Through all the hustle and bustle I went,
Until all my energies were spent,
And yet, no sign of goal did see,
Until time caught up with poor me.

There is a search in all of us -
Of questions that we are so uneasy about.
Why is this emptiness and void at dusk?
Am I doing what I am supposed to do?

And so as we tread those much touted roads,
Of want, desire and ambition,
And wonder why we never did,
See the truth we always wanted to.

So went I to the old dusty lanes,
Of rocks and thorns until all clouds cleared,
And a spring of young water signaled me
And said a voice - peace be with thee.

Why do you want to take than to give?
Why do you want to be loved than to love?
Remember that you were born through love,
And love it will be that can save you

There in those old poor streets I sate,
And thought and reflected and marveled,
And started a new way of giving, not taking,
And a wonderful peace and gladness did emanate.

So here's the plan. My goal for now is to land in Cochin in the beginning of the next year, 2006. That would the the first week of January 2006. To be able to do this, I inform my company of my resignation in the middle of December. Having done this, I have ample time to review my CV and see where I stand and where I wish to go from a professional standpoint. At the same time, I look for openings in Cochin in the week or two that I have.

You can ask me questions about how I made this decision if you have questions. Yes, it is true. How fathomable is for you to decide. This is my decision, not yours.

Dad with heart trouble

2005-11-03T21:04:00.001+05:30

Daddy had a serious heart attack last week. It was a beautiful truth that God is there for us. Now we know, from the way he recovered, that God is truly here among us. Immanuel. Come Immanuel. Come.

Each day in with Christ is like heaven here on earth. Who said, things are far beyond repair, that this age is too bad? It was always a challenge in history. Nothing can change the truth about God and the universe.

Each man and woman decides and chooses whether they live with God or whether they do not. If they choose not to, they may never know him. If they choose to, they will see more.

Jesus said, those that have, they will have more. Those that do not, even what they have will be taken away. Only love can produce love. What you give is what you get. Life is never unfair. We have a beautiful gift in life. We can use this gift with this beautiful thing called freedom of choice.

Yet, our yearning for the perfect love, the perfect career, the perfect joy and happiness never ends. This is because man is not made just for some 60 years of living doing the same thing each day. His heart and mind has wings which want to fly.

But you cannot fly by pulling others down. If you want to fly, give, love, share and empty yourself. Then, you start again. You are fresh and can hold more. God bless you all.

Ode to Perot Pals

2005-10-25T18:12:00.001+05:30

Hi, after having spent more than a year in Perot Systems, one of the most valuable gains has been the friends made during this time. I have composed a poem as a tribute to them:

We came from different places, colleges,
Freshers in search of a software job,
We landed in Perot Systems in the monsoon of 2004,
And here we were into professional life.

During the coffee breaks we met,
And hung around during the training,
And learned stuff and became friends,
And smiled and sent SMSs and chatted.

Then we joined the Shivalaya campus,
And ate lunch together in the food court,
And drank tea/coffee on the open-air chairs.
And were friends sharing so many things.

Now a year has passed, and we're here.
Some of us are in Perot, some elsewhere,
Thankful that we met and found each other,
In this phase of transit in our lives.

Well, there are picnics, parties, bumps and gifts,
But most precious, being friends, us people,
So nice to know and be together,
Never mind what we say or do.

So let us all thank God and thank our gang,
Every person different in his/her way.
Yet so happy together in a bond,
Of friendship that I pray remains to eternity.

August visit to Cochin

2005-08-31T16:55:00.003+05:30

On August 28th, 1923, Fernando Rielo, founder of the Idente Missionaries of Christ Crucified was born. On 28th August 2005, I went to Cochin to celebrate his birthday. The day coincided with the feast of Saint Augustine. It was a weekend of meeting people who it seemed were friends since ages, yet it was just a second meeting with them.

I arrived in Cochin on Saturday. That evening, there was a talk on the Saints and reaching purity through the Ascetical and Mystical examination. The next day, Sunday was the important feast day. The day's morning program was talk and Holy Mass. Later, there was to be a cultural program.

I decided to do the reading and prepared well for a very poignant reading from Saint Paul's letter to the Corinthians. The message of the reading was transforming one's mind and thought to that of Christ.

The Mass proceeded with a very intimate bond between God and us as is very strongly emphasized by all in our order.

That morning, the wonderful message was about union with God. The level of union which one would never have thought possible. This was the talk on the Tranverberative union. This was an extremely strong message and one which I wrote and put into a document. Thankfully, after lots of effort, I finally put into a soft form, which can be read.

Lunch was delicious and sweeter still because we helped together to do little parts of it. It is so nice to wipe dishes and cut fruits and vegetables when everyone is smiling. That afternoon, I wanted to sing in Konkani and in Hindi too. For this I prepared some nice hymns which I really love a lot. The Konkani hymn was Soglya Kalzan, which means with all my heart and the Hindi hymn was Tere geet gaun or I will sing your song. Our group of brothers and fathers also sang together a Mexican song in the Spanish language. The script is English so it was easy.

So now, I have introduced my extended family members and all are my family members now.

Poem - The Breath of Life

2005-07-20T13:08:00.001+05:30

Let me share a poem with you. A poem straight from my heart and soul. It is for the sanctity of life. A poem that cries out for the millions of unborn children whose right to life is taken from them in their helplessness.

I walk the streets and see the crowds
Who is this person, a shadow in the night?
What is creature called man?
What is this thing called a human?

It was the end of my life,
I was old and done with working,
My life's ebb drew me to silence,
And I feel a sad solitude now.

But once my blood raced and my pulse pounded
I was in the thunder of youth
I was bold and brash and bad
And indulged in a big mistake

What was that mistake? I think now.
What was that thing we decided to end?
Was is a human? Or was it not?
Where are we and how far have we come?

Now I wish I could see the great light.
What did I live for? What was I to be?
Where has the road of life led me?
Now, that I am on my death bed?

The breath is dim and the life, scant,
The head reels into a slow darkness,
And where do I head now? Is it the end?
What was I? Some flesh and blood?

And now I see the awesome light,
It shines so bright but I'm afraid of it.
This was the light when I was conceived,
When my life hung from a fragile thread.

But I wish I had that second chance now.
Now that I know the breath that conceived me,
Breath from that light, that gave me life,
A second chance is all I ask.

Not that I may see the light,
For I was that mistake - for I closed my eyes,
And that thing I thought was a cluster of just cells,
Lies happily above, near the light of breath.

Making Relationships Work

2005-06-27T19:37:00.000+05:30

What is man’s greatest need? Studies of human psychology have shown that there are two governing desires of the human heart. One is to be loved. The other is to love. So it is that to be loved and to love is the greatest need of ours.
Wherever we live, whatever we do, however old we are, working, studying, at home, serving in the priesthood, regardless, there are always people around. We have our families. We have neighbors. We may have roommates. We may have classmates. We may have a peer group. We may have colleagues. It is but natural to want all our relationships to be wonderful. Let us ask Jesus how he would want to do it. Let us share a simple but profound message of love.

Childhood - the family
The parents sow the first seeds of spiritual, emotional and psychological fruit. They are the first teachers of everything. Sometimes when I think of how my parents took care of me, I want more. I seem to ask more of them. Yet, when I see it from their side, I wonder how it was possible. And for all the parents reading this – only when your kids become parents themselves, will they realize how great a job parenting is.

Teens
Adolescence is a time of massive changes – physical, psychological, emotional. During this time, you want to experiment, find out, and learn things. There are uncertainties ahead. Yet, you want to have friends. The key is to find the right company, the right emotional balance.
The church is a great privilege for catholic youth today. The Jesuit institutions provide an excellent atmosphere to grow into fine people.

Young Adults
These years, you are closer to what you will be for life. You get towards your career and vocation – marriage, single status or priesthood. Finding love is one thing one is keen to know about. The first step is to be beautiful people – to love more. The questions that young people have may cause people to discourage doubts about the faith. Nevertheless, this is awesome because it is a manifestation of growing into perfect love.

Married
For those of use who have chosen a partner and decided to start a family, relationship is critical and requires a lot of sacrifice. Marital vows say “In good times and bad, in sickness and in health … all the days of my life.”

Priesthood
God calls all of us to love and be his children. Yet, some people feel specially called to carry Gods work through this time of history to spread the message of Jesus today. They may want to stay single so they can serve God and do his work better. They will want to give their whole heart to God. Priesthood requires enormous commitment. Initially, it starts with a firm “yes” to Jesus.

Jesus is the perfect love. He is “the way”, “the truth” and “the life”. God’s love is most faithful. He calls us to be rich. The bible is also called “the message of love”. Jesus calls us Catholics to be filled with this love without limit. The ways of heaven are infinite. I asked Jesus – How much you love me. “This much” he said and he spread out his arms and died.
Young people, you are here. The time is now. Are you ready to find perfect love, to carry this great love to all?

Spurs are NBA Champions

2005-06-24T10:12:00.001+05:30

The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Detroit Pistons in game 7 of the NBA playoffs at 9:40 am, IST, Friday (today) June 24th. Thursday evening US time. I'm delighted to learn the result. I love the best basketball. I love the beautiful dribbles and the big three pointers.

For those new to the game or the NBA, NBA is National Basketball Association - the governing body of basketball in the US. NBA hosts a tournament featuring teams from all over the US and Canada. The teams play in two leagues - the eastern conference and the western conference. Most teams are named after their base city, for example, Detroit Pistons are from the city of Detroit, the state of Michigan. This is north of Chicago on the eastern side of the US. The state houses the great lakes.

The tournament format is league matches based on which teams will play a number of matches in round-robin format. Then, there are the playoffs in which top scoring teams qualify and are paired in a seven game series. A team that first wins 4 games wins that series. At the end of some months of basketball, one team each from the eastern and western conference emerges winner. The finals is played between these two teams. It is a seven game playoff.

This year, 2005, the Detroit Pistons were the eastern conference champions and the San-Antonio Spurs, the western conference champions. Detroit pistons have a blend of excellent runners, superb finishers, a huge shot blocker and an incredibly consistent scorer. San Antonio also have a superb dribbler, a reliable senior player, one of the league best three point scorer and a talented reliable all-round player.

The key player for the pistons is Chauncey Billups. Billups was MVP or Most Valuable Player last year (2004). They are blessed with an extremely hard-working guy, Richard Hamilton, who runs his socks off, tries to get every ball, tries to make space all the time, and keeps coming at the opposition. The "big" Ben Wallace is a huge 6ft 8 man and is excellent at blocking shots and tap-ins. The pistons owe several turnovers to him in this years finals (turn over means taking possession). Rasheed Wallace is extremely popular and key player of the Pistons. He is an all-round player - good at defense and scores well. Tayshaun Prince is an awesomely talented guy scoring a lot of points for the pistons.

The Spurs have an excellent team. Led by Tim Duncan, MVP in 2002 is excellent at rebounds and scores lots of points. He has been reliable in the past but markedly struggling under pressure this years finals. But the man everyone is talking about is Manu Ginobli. His excellent dribbling make him a lethal weapon for the Spurs. I still remember his dunk in the 3rd quarter after dribbling past 2 defenders. Tony Parker is an all round player capable of turning on the heat when needed. The big 3 point scorer is Robert Horry. This man can score the big points from range with awesome consistency. He is almost single-handedly responsible for the Spurs 3rd win to take them 3-2 ahead in the series in the crucial 5th game.

All in all, I enjoyed this years finals. Hope those of you who knew little about the game got some inspiration and information. And those of you who watched the game got back some memories. And those of you who missed the game got a pulse pounding inspiration with the game account.

Trip to Mangalore

2005-05-16T17:13:00.000+05:30

Last Thursday and Friday, dad and I set out for Mangalore. We took the night bus. Got tickets on the spot. The journey took around eight hours. Thankfully, I got sound sleep.
Thursday morning, reached Mangalore. Took an auto to uncle's house. Just a 5 min ride. We kicked off our shoes and refreshed ourselves with a bath and warmth of hospitality showered by our hosts, uncle Vally and aunty Vivi and cousins Vinola and Vinu.
We came to Mangalore to attend my uncles house-warming and 25th wedding anniversary. It was a wonderful thing for me to come for a family function after such a long time. We headed for the place and I went with cousin Rainier and Russel to fetch the priest, Fr Rudolph Ravi D'Sa from Bendoor church.
I took some photographs and met an old acquaintance, Rio D'Souza, an uncle-in-law. Rio does research on biometrics and is a professor in National Institue of Technology, Karnataka (previously REC Surathkal). It was awesome to learn about the kind of stuff he does. I was inspired and happy for him.
Of course, I met my cousins after long. Rainier, Rochelle, Russel and their mum and dad. We had a long walk on the mud tracks past the streams and undulating and sometimes uneven terrain of my native, in India's western ghats section. At peace with nature.
After hanging out, talking with my young cousin, Russel about huge spiders they find there, about cockraoches and video games, we headed to the church.
The Infant Jesus Shrine in Mangalore is known for the devotion of people all over the city. It is situated in Kulashekara, near a bus junction, Nanthur. The shrine is built by the Carmelite fathers. It is splendid in design and structure, shaped as it is like the crown of the Infant Jesus. The shrine itself is pentagonal from the top view with five majestic arcs meeting at the top to a sphere and a cross.
The services are complete with immense devotion for the Lord and edifies you to kneel and bow and pray silently, even if you do not understand every word of the mass. Then, we went to the adjacent adoration. This is the sanctum for Christians. It is the body of Jesus Christ exposed so that we can pray and bow and rever and touch and kiss it. This is the source of great miracles all over the world where this adoration is done or where the blessed sacrament, the body of Christ is exposed. You can see people pray kneeling for even an hour or more at a stretch. People have night vigils and pray through the night before the sacrament too.
We went later to our house at Vamanjoor. This is a beautiful place facing a vast expanse of green growth and some slender stalks of wild plants to one side. The house itself is a simple, clean and neat one with elegant aluminium sliding windows. There is nothing extravagantly expensive, yet it has a charm that I admire. It was designed by dad when he was working in Mangalore for about a year. It is on a piece of land gifted to my dad by my late paternal grandfather.
(more later..)

Champoins League hots up!!

2005-04-14T12:13:00.001+05:30

Some news from the Champions League. Chelsea through. Liverpool beat the Juventus hurdle. Controversy in the Milan derby. A conversation with a friend...

Me: How is work? Chelsea are in the semi-finals of the Champions league. They beat Bayern Munich 4-2 at home and lost 3-2 away. They meet Liverpool next.

Sourabh: ya I watched SportsLine yesterday....

What about Inter Milan and AC Milan?

Me: AC Milan won the first leg 2-0 but the second leg, Inters home game was cut short due to crowd violence. A spectator threw a missile at Milan keeper Dida. AC Milan was leading 1-0 at the time.

In this mornings match, Liverpool managed a clean sheet to deny Juventus a place in the semis. The match ended 0-0. Liverpool were carrying a 2-1 lead to Italy by virtue of a home win.

S: It is so surprising to see 2 English Premier league teams in the Semis of Champions league...Hope Chelsea wins it...

Me: I watched Chelsea's performances of late. I admit they have the arsenal to take it through. John Terry's defending has been impressive. Lampard's striking have been superlative. With suspended coach Jose Mourinho returning for the semis. And watching the game against Bayern, Drogba's heading prowess is showing on the European stage. Chelsea are dynamite right now.

S: But I heard John Terry got injured badly and may not be able to play the next match..

Superb poem

2005-04-01T14:43:00.001+05:30

This is a poem I found on the web. I think it's great!!

How does one hush one's house,
each proud possessive wall, each sighing rafter,
the rooms made restless with remembered laughter
or wounding echoes, the permissive doors,
the stairs that vacillate from up to down,
windows that bring in color and event from countryside or town,
oppressive ceilings and complaining floors?

The house must first of all accept the night.
Let it erase the walls and their display,
impoverish the rooms till they are filled
with humble silences; let clocks be stilled
and all the selfish urgencies of day.

Midnight is not the time to greet a guest,
Caution the doors against both foes and friends,
and try to make the windows understand
their unimportance when the daylight ends.
Persuade the stairs to patience, and deny
the passages their aimless to and fro.
Virtue it is that puts a house at rest.
How well repaid that tenant is, how blest
who, when the call is heard,
is free to take his kindled heart and go.

Father forgive them lyrics

2005-03-17T12:11:00.001+05:30

Music is a beautiful art of expression. But what inspires lyricists and composers are powerful messages or love of music itself. Inspiration in musicians leads them to produce wonderful works.
"Father forgive them for they know not what they do" - Luke 23:34
An understatement of the deep love Jesus has for us. When a heart is so beautiful from inside, can such words come from that person.
When people recieve such words, the inspiration it produces is tremendous. Here are the words of a hymn inspired by these same words:

ch 1: Father forgive them, they know not what they do
ch 2: Father forgive us, we know not what we do

1. They see me lying in the street, yet never lend a hand
The night goes by while they're asleep, yet I'm still in the sand
And I cry each night for their blinded eyes
That never, never seem to see.

2. They call me friend when they're in need, I know it's all a sham.
For when my sufferings make me weep, they simply wash their hands,
And I'm left alone in despair to moan;
They'll never, never understand.

3. We crucified your son in shame, his message we ignored,
Though time has passed, we're still the same, indifferent as before,
And he dies each day in our hearts of clay
O father, teach us how to love.

Is Jesus the messiah?

2005-03-08T11:41:00.000+05:30

I got a mail about a series of letters between a messianic Jew and a Jewish rabbi. I only read the first two letters, enough to decide its interesting enough to go through. Here's the link.

Perot Systems - ICA Challengers Chess Champions, 2005

2005-03-07T11:04:00.000+05:30

The Perot Systems team comprising Asim Pereira, Terence Monteiro, Sudhakar Rana and Niranjan Reddy won the corporate team chess championship title for 2005 organized by ICA (Innovators Chess Academy) on Saturday, March 5th and Sunday, March 6th at the state youth center. The team scored a total of 10.5 points out of a maximum of 12. Asim (3 points out of 3), Terence (3 points), Sudhakar (2.5) and Niranjan (2), all won the board prizes for their individual boards. The team now qualifies to play the National Corporate Chess Tournament to be held at Calicut in June 2005.
In the individual event, Sushrutha Reddy (4.5 points out of 5) won the 1st place, followed by Asim Pereira (4), Deepak Kumar Payeng (3.5), N Hanumanthu (3) and Niranjan Reddy (3). Terence Monteiro also had 3 points in the individual event but Hanumanthu and Niranjan got the last two prizes by virtue of a better progressive score. The total prize money for this event was Rs 5000/-.
The playing field was of a high caliber. Two of the individual competitors, Deepak and Hanumanthu have an ELO rating from FIDE, the international governing body for chess.
The team event had 3 rounds, the contestants were mostly from software companies. It was a round robin format. We beat ANZ IT in the last round. The individual event had 5 rounds. It was played in the Swiss format.
As of today, The Hindu and The Deccan Herald have published the results of the event.
I will publish the games soon. For now, the chess enthusiasts among you can check out some old games and two qualification games at my chess blog.

Akanksha Quiz Results

2005-02-28T11:59:00.000+05:30

Our group, Prem Kumar, Edwin Arockiaraj, and I, won the Perot Systems Akanksha quiz last Friday. It was great fun all the way. It went till the tie breaker, which we clinched. Here follows a slice of the action...

Early on.. And fortunes turning
Group B, of Sourabh, Guru and Srivatsa were in the hunt early their group and ours shared the lead. There was a high gamble round in which the wild card Group A took a 40:20 option. They got it and surged by 40 points. Sourabh & co took the risk too, but ended up losing 20 and their way. We played safe, took the 20:10 option. Kept on the trail.

Last round
In the last round, we were 10 points behind the gamblers and 5 ahead of Group C, the stud's from Java, which I believe was perhaps the strongest group owing to the presence of Atulya Bharadwaj from Java.
The round was a clue-based round
Direct question - 20 points
After 1 clue - 15 points
2 clues - 10 points
3 clues - 5 points
Group A got it after 2 clues - 10 points, their lead now 20 points. We, Group D had to get it. The question: What does a cartographer make? MAPS. We couldn't wait to tell it out!! BINGO! At the end scores were tied. Groups A and D joint first on 80 points.

The climax
Tie breaker
Q1. What does LDAP represent? Our answer - Local Directory Access Protocol. The actual one - Lightweight ... Only the first word was wrong.
Q2. From which mountain is the Olympic torch taken each games to light the Olympic flame? Prem knew it for sure - Mount Olympus!!

One Solitary Life

2005-02-11T13:07:00.000+05:30

Many of us would have heard or read this christian poem about Jesus Christ. I found that it was written by James Allen Francis.
Here it is:

He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant.
He grew up in another village, where he worked in a carpenter shop until he was 30.
Then, for three years, he was an itinerant preacher.
He never wrote a book.
He never held an office.
He never had a family or owned a home.
He didn't go to college.
He never lived in a big city.
He never traveled 200 miles from the place where he was born.
He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness.
He had no credentials but himself.
He was only 33 when the tide of public opinion turned against him.
His friends ran away.
One of them denied him.
He was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial.
He was nailed to a cross between two thieves.
While he was dying, his executioners gambled for his garments, the only property he had on earth.
When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave, through the pity of a friend.
Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central figure of the human race.
I am well within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched,
all the navies that ever sailed,
all the parliaments that ever sat,
all the kings that ever reigned
--put together--
have not affected the life of man on this earth
as much as that one, solitary life.

by James Allen Francis

Caligula

2005-02-10T14:37:00.000+05:30

Last night, I learned about the Italian emperor Caligula. He intrigued me when his reign was introduced as a reign of madness. His was a life out of control as I would put it.
His early years were marked with oppression and a sudden plunge to loneliness and helplessness. That after he lost his father to sickness and his family to murder. And he grew on an isolated island, within great restrictions.
His life after becoming roman emperor was wild with rejoicing and merrymaking for a while but then he had a nervous breakdown and it turned crazy and terrorizing. He had lustful nights and had unnatural sexual relationships with men.
In his later years, he became very much withdrawn from people and talked of himself as a God. On the whole, his life was a very strange one. His reign just lasted less than four years but his notoriety outgrew himself. I leave this open and inconclusive so we can have some comments...

A meditation on fasting

2005-02-07T14:44:00.000+05:30

Today is Monday, 7th February, two days before Catholics observe ash-Wednesday. I personally do not wait for lent to fast. And this time, I want to meditate on the bible while I fast. I want a meaningful fast with prayer and scripture.
I have an HTML bible. And I turn to the gospel of Luke, chapter 4. The verses are about Jesus temptation after he was baptized in the river Jordan. The first is the temptation of bread. Jesus has fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. At the end of this, he is hungry. The devil asks him to turn the loaves into bread. He says it is written "man shall not live on bread alone".
I say, let this be the passage on which I will meditate now. "Man shall not live on bread alone". Then I go to the gospel of Matthew which says - "Man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God". So it will be in our lives. We will look deeper than mere food, fun and success in life. We will offer this moment to God above. We will trust in the name of Jesus Christ. We will get ourselves feel hunger. We will let ourselves bear the pangs of our poorest brothers. We will remember the time when Jesus faced those temptations.
"Man shall not live on bread alone". How do we think of someone who has donated for a cause like tsunami relief? Do we feel we are doing something good? Certainly. And yet Jesus says that taking care of oneself is something we should not worry about. That we should keep others before ourselves.
So the overpowering self pity is my temptation. Telling me I am a good lad for having fasted. But I tell myself - grow up Terence. You are wise and strong. You know how important is God's will in your life. You know that without a foundation, you cannot stand. You know that you bear fruit only if you receives God's message. You know. You know that Jesus is the real vine and you are a branches as are all chosen people. You only bear fruit while you are connected to the main stem of the vine.

Societal evolution and the bicycle

2005-02-05T13:15:00.000+05:30

I learned to ride a bicycle a long time ago during late primary school. A simple machine which I was excited to possess. So my beloved bicycle served me traveling to school and back. However, among those I know, there are not that many takers among young adults of middle-class Indian families who are willing to accept the bicycle for its worth.
In our beloved country, the influx of jobs and people has led to wealth, wealth concentrated among a few. The result, a sudden increase in consumer power. So quite naturally, the market is flooded with consumer goods. Now a show of goods and hip-ness and status is spreading. We are becoming prisoners of this psyche and a flock syndrome ensues. People buy goods and flaunt them, then become addicted to them. But why should we take to this?
Date back to the early years of human evolution, the phase when man was fighting to survive. He wanted a female who was good-looking or attractive. He wanted to attract her with his strength and survival tactics. Hence, there was a need to bare the teeth as it were. As the years have passed, human survival instincts lead them to show things which increase their desirability. The wallet-heavy guy is an attractive proposition for a girl. So both sexes feel the need to maximize their lifestyle and behavior. A small consequence are the things like bicycles which may be wise to use but for reasons above are not desirable.
Now, we know human life is changed. But the crucial part of this change, and the one that has made us so successful as a species is the social bonds between people. The interdependence on each-other. Man cannot be separate from society. Mutual help and community strength is the backbone of our lives.
Simplicity is an essential virtue in life. This is the level when people can connect with one-another. We all have our gifts - talents, wealth, good-looks. Would a world be full without each one fitting into the big picture? What have we inherited alongside the great luxuries in life? Insecurity? Mistrust?
So there is a higher way of thinking. A greater truth of living, namely simplicity. People who think like this are a minority. Flock syndrome. What is that? It is people following a trend en-Masse to such an extent that they engage in things they would have found unreasonable when in a clearer stream of thought. So as we grow, we will mature to see the strength of simple things in life. Love, sacrifice and humility have several forms. Letting go from deep within is the power plant of great lives.

Baketball and me

2005-02-04T19:28:00.000+05:30

What are the rules of this game? People leave me puzzled. The silly drama that unfolds every evening in the basketball court keeps me wondering. It is time in the evening to change into a pair of cheap shoes and go to the court.
I love to conquer new domains, take new challenges, defy the limits. In life, you have to keep growing. I wonder when I can conquer this game basketball. :)). Well, who cares if people laugh when you claim fouls and stuff. We've got to be fair. But we all want things loaded in our favor.
Like soccer, here also you find people who play rough. Its tough to play while keeping yourself from getting hurt and yet compete in the game. What we have then is a few minutes of sickening helplessness as in my case. Anyways, I play cool, and do my part. I know I may not seem up there right now but like everything, I will keep going!!

Whats this life for?

2005-02-04T15:33:00.000+05:30

What are we doing here? Software development. Where is this going to lead me? Where are the "intelectual pursuits going to take me"?
Right now, my philosophy of life is simple. God (yes I believe in God) has given me talents. So my job is to use these and produce fruit. Produce wonderful results. Make things better for me and for everyone.
Holy cow!! Where was I some years ago? No clue about engineering colleges until after the final year pre-varsity tuition classes started. So nice to be able to do so many wonderful things in life. To take on so many challenges and learn from them.

The road to soccer mastery

2005-02-04T15:02:00.000+05:30

Soccer requires a lot of hard work. Early days, flashback to year 2000. I'm done with Pre-Varsity exams. Hoping for a good score. Go to the ground, early morning. A lot of josh. The pro's there see me as a talent.
A few years later, I have maturity as a player. However, there are no delectable successes. I am not selected in the college soccer team. That's alright in the long run as I've save lots of time not staying on after college hours.
The last couple of years, I get drawn into a strong personal priority set. Independent and free. I expend massive hours and energies ball juggling. Reach dizzy heights. Captain the department team to the inter-department title.
Come the time when you have to produce the goods. That after lots of time offline. Then, legs don't move. Breath is scant and labored. Stamina is disappeared, apparently. I will bite the dust if I don't put in the hard work. I know I need to labor long hours.

Latest .NET fun project

2005-02-04T14:59:00.000+05:30

Today, I am working on a fun project to create a client-server application to play a game of Scrabble. Feels good to learn stuff about C#. The project uses delegates, TcpClient, TcpServer classes, a command language with a parser and packer. The whole thing is a lot of fun an learning.