Birth Centenaries of Rado, Godel

Thanks to Lance for the great posts on Richard Rado (1906-1989) and Kurt Godel (1906-1978), on the eve of their birth centenaries.

Link to a previous post of Lance. Read the rest of this entry >>

Tao Te Ching

1

The tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao
The name that can be named
is not the eternal Name

41

When a superior man hears of the Tao,
he immediately begins to embody it.
When an average man hears of the Tao,
he half believes it, half doubts it.
When a foolish man hears of the Tao,
he laughs out loud.
If he didn't laugh,
it wouldn't be the Tao.


48

In pursuit of knowledge,
every day something is added.
In the practice of the Tao,
every day something is dropped.
Less and less do you need to force things,
until finally you arrive at non-action.
When nothing is done,
nothing is left undone.

81

True words aren't eloquent;
eloquent words aren't true.
Wise men don't need to prove their point;
men who need to prove their point aren't wise.

The Master has no possessions.
The more he does for others,
the happier he is.
The more he gives to others,
the wealthier he is.

The Tao nourishes by not forcing.
By not dominating, the Master leads.


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Two translations I know that are good: by Gia-Fu Feng, and Jane English and by Stephen Mitchell. The latter is also available online. Read the rest of this entry >>

Sri Dakshinamurthy Stotram Part VII

In Part VII-a, Part VII-b, Part VII-c,Part VII-d and Part VII-e, Shri Subramanian discusses Verse VI of Shri Dakshinamurthy Stotram:


Rahu-grasta-divakarendu-sadrsho maya-samaacchaadanaat
SanmaatraH karanopasamharanato yo'bhut-sushuptaH pumaan |
Praagasvaasamiti prabodha-samaye yaH pratyabhijnaayate
Tasmai Srigurumurtaye nama idam Sridakshinamurtaye ||


Links to previous verses:

Verses I to Verse IV (Parts I to V) and Verse V, Part VI (both halves). Read the rest of this entry >>

Kristof Wins Pulitzer for Commentary

This blogger has been a fan of Nicholas Kristof. His work has been exemplary. Whether it is reporting on genocides, or tackling the administration in Pakistan for its atrocities against women, or environmentalism, or progressive thinking, and many such issues, he somehow seems to be correct in all he writes. Three cheers for Kristof!

Related links:

The NYTimes page, with some of his writings.

The columnist page of Kristof from NYTimes.

The winners in Journalism, the winners in letters and music (note that the book on Oppenheimer has won in biography).

My post urging my friends to read NYTimes.

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Postscript(04/22): According to the WiKi entry, Kristof already has a Pulitzer that was awarded jointly with his journalist wife, Sheryl WuDunn. Apparently, she too works for NYTimes and this was the first time a Pulitzer prize was awarded jointly to a married couple. Read the rest of this entry >>

Panikkar's Vedic Experience available online!

Raimundo Panikkar's The Vedic Experience: Mantramanjari, a good translation -- possibly one of the best in English -- of some of the scriptures from Vedas is available online from Himalayan Academy:

Related Links:

Other online books from Himalayan Academy.

Amazon link for Panikkar's book. Read tepi's review and tepi's other reviews.

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Link to Panikkar's book, thanks to Sunder, a poster in advaitin mailing list! Read the rest of this entry >>

Emily: I had no time to hate

Possibly, my most favorite poem of the woman in white (or the Bartleby page for Emily Dickinson):

I had no time to hate, because
The grave would hinder me,
And life was not so ample I
Could finish enmity.

Nor had I time to love, but since
Some industry must be,
The little toil of love, I thought,
Was large enough for me.

From: Selected Poems Of Emily Dickinson: Searing Vision of Life, Passion, Death and Beyond.

Here is an index of her first lines from Bartleby. Read the rest of this entry >>

Goedel Prize for Agarwal, Kayal and Saxena

Thanks to Lance, Agarwal, Kayal and Saxena, the authors of the famous paper "Primes is in P", won the Goedel Prize for 2006. Goedel Prize is the highest award in Theoretical Computer Science. Here is a list of past winners of the award. Note the names like Hastad, Arora, Sudan, Motwani, Goldwasser, Freund-Schapire, among other modern greats.

According to Suresh's blog, people knew this news earlier, via grapevine.

Here is an introduction to the problem and the algorithm (PDF link). The Wiki Entry, a version of the paper (PDF link) from Agarwal's home page. The paper has been accepted to be published in Annals of Mathematics 160 1-13, 2004. Read the rest of this entry >>

Hafiz: Now is the Time

My friend Elliott, pinned the poem "Now is the Time" by Hafiz (a 14th century mystic/poet from Persia) outside my door:

Now is the time to know
That all that you do is sacred.

Now, why not consider
A lasting truce with yourself and God.

Now is the time to understand
That all your ideas of right and wrong
Were just a child's training wheels
To be laid aside
When you finally live
With veracity
And love.

Hafiz is a divine envoy
Whom the Beloved
Has written a holy message upon.

My dear, please tell me,
Why do you still
Throw sticks at your heart
And God?

What is it in that sweet voice inside
That incites you to fear?

Now is the time for the world to know
That every thought and action is sacred.

This is the time for you to compute the impossibility
That there is anything
But Grace.

Now is the season to know
That everything you do
Is sacred.

Thanks Elliott!
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By coincidence, while commenting on Pippa's Song by Browning, Atanu remembers Hesse's Siddhardha saying to Govinda: “The world is perfect at every moment, Govinda.”

Here is more poetry by Hafiz. Read the rest of this entry >>

tapaswadhyaya niratam taapaswi vagvidam varam

So start the most beautiful Sanskrit verses ever written. They were the inspiration for great poets like Kalidasa.

Here is an online version of the Vaalmiki's Ramayana. The first 18 verses of the Baala Kaanda are beautiful.

The poster is also lucky to have the Telugu translations of Valmiki Ramayan by Shri Pullla Ramachandru Garu. Here is a great online book shop that sells Telugu books. Particularly recommended: Baala Kaanda and of course, Sundara Kaanda.


A young kid, Anand is translating Ramayana into English in his blog. He is right now in Yuddha Kaanda and plans to complete by (I think) Tamil New Year. Read it. Read the rest of this entry >>