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The Biography of Shri Anna Hazare

2011-08-28T16:44:00.002+05:30

From a tenacious soldier to a social reformer, and a right to information crusader, Anna Hazare’s journey of four decades has been unprecedented in terms of a non-violent yet effective campaign of resurrecting a barren village into an `ideal village’ model and empowering the faceless citizen through pioneering work on Right to Information. His efforts to empower grampanchayats, protect efficient government officers from frequent transfers and fight against the red tapism in government offices have also received accolades.

His tryst with the army came when many Indian soldiers became martyrs in the Indo-China War of 1962 and the Government of India had appealed to young Indians to join the Indian army. Being passionate about patriotism, he promptly responded to the appeal and joined the Indian Army in 1963. During his 15-year tenure as a soldier, he was posted to several states like Sikkim, Bhutan, Jammu-Kashmir, Assam, Mizoram, Leh and Ladakh and braved challenging weathers.

At times, Hazare used to be frustrated with life and wondered about the very existence of human life. His mind yearned to look out for a solution to this simple and basic question. His frustration reached the peak level and at one particular moment, he also contemplated suicide. For this, he had also penned a two page essay on why he wants to live no more. Fortunately for him, inspiration came from the most unexpected quarters – at the book stall of the railway station of New Delhi, where he was located then. He came across a book of Swami Vivekananda and immediately bought it.

He was inspired by Vivekananda’s photograph on the cover. As he started reading the book, he found answers to all his questions, he says. The book revealed to him that the ultimate motive of human life should be service to humanity. Striving for the betterment of common people is equivalent to offering a prayer to the God, he realized.

In the year 1965, Pakistan attacked India and at that time, Hazare was posted at the Khemkaran border. On November 12, 1965, Pakistan launched air attacks on Indian base and all of Hazare’s comrades became martyrs, It was a close shave for Hazare as one bullet had passed by his head. Hazare believes this was the turning point of his life as it meant he had a purpose to life. Anna was greatly influenced by Swami Vivekananda’s teachings. It was at that particular moment that Hazare took an oath to dedicate his life in the service of humanity, at the age of 26. He decided not not to let go of a life time by being involved merely in earning the daily bread for the family. That’s the reason why he pledged to be a bachelor. By then he had completed only three years in the army and so would not be eligible for the pension scheme. In order to be self-sufficient, he continued to be in the army for 12 more years. After that, he opted for voluntary retirement and returned to his native place in Ralegan Siddhi, in the Parner tehsil of Ahmednagar district.

While in the army, Hazare used to visit Ralegan Siddhi for two months every year and used to see the miserable condition of farmers due to water scarcity. Ralegan Siddhi falls in the drought-prone area with a mere 400 to 500 mm of annual rainfall. There were no weirs to retain rainwater. During the month of April and May, water tankers were the only means of drinking water. Almost 80 per cent of the villagers were dependent on other villages for food grains. Residents used to walk for more than four to six kilometers in search of work and some of them had opted to open country liquor dens as a source of income.

More than 30-35 such dens located in and around the village had tarnished the dignity of the village and marred the social peace. Small scuffles, thefts and physical brawls resulted in loss of civic sense. Morality had reached such a nadir that some of the residents stole wooden logs of the temple of the village deity Yadavbaba to burn the choolah of one of the country liquor outfits.

Hazare came across the work of one Vilasrao Salunke, a resident of Saswad near Pune who had started a novel project of water management through watershed development in a joint venture with the Gram Panchyat. Hazare visited the project and decided to implement it in Ralegan Siddhi. By keeping an eye on conserving every drop of water and preventing erosion of the fertile soil, he steered the villagers to begin working towards water conservation. At the outset, they completed 48 Nala Bunding work, contour trenches, staggered trenches, gully plugs, meadows development and of forestation of 500 hectares of land. Thereafter, they constructed five RCC weirs and 16 Gabion Weirs.

This resulted in increase in the ground water level. After that, Hazare along with his team worked out the cropping pattern suitable to the quality of soil and the water volume available for farming. This led to increase in the water table by making water available for 1,500 acres of land instead of 300 acres. As a natural sequel, this effort led to yielding of food-grains and the villagers became self-sufficient in terms of food. The table turned turtle – earlier there was no work available for the villagers, now manpower was required to be imported from neighbouring villages.

The changes in the economics brought all the villagers under one roof of unity and people voluntarily contributed in terms of labour and money to build a school, a hostel, a temple and other buildings. Mass marriages, grains bank, dairy, cooperative society, self-help groups for women and youth mandals helped develop the village in all aspects and gave a new face to it.

Hazare opines that proper planning of natural and human resources can result in the betterment of a person, area, village instead of exploiting such resources. He says, ``Today we all are exploiting the earthen resources like petrol, diesel, kerosene, coal and water. This can never be termed as perennial development as it is going to lead a state of destruction one day. The sources of energy are limited and hence I am concerned about the next generations. Today many of the villages of almost every state are feeling the brunt of water shortage. Building concrete jungles does not mean development as Gandhiji had rightly said.

Creation of a human idol should be the main objective rather than creating towering buildings. Surely, one needs to live for oneself and the family but simultaneously one owes something to your neighbour, your village and your nation too. For this, you need an idol who could lead to this goal. Such leadership is not created by power or money but only by virtues like pure thinking, matching action and willingness to sacrifice. It is the thumb rule of farming that – When a seed buries itself, it leads to a better yield. in order to get better yield of grains, one single grain needs to burry itself.

The society needs such volunteers who are ready to get buried in selfless service for the better future of the society.’’

Hazare’s Ralegan Siddhi became the first role model of an ideal village and has become a tourist spot for many visitors across the nation, since it shows the metamorphoses from the worst village to an ideal village. Visitors include politicians, researchers, social workers and students. Four postgraduate students have completed Ph. D. thesis on Ralegan Siddhi.

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Social Life

Anna rightly thought that Development is marred by corruption and started a new venture in 1991 called Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jan Aandolan (BVJA) or public movement against corruption. It was found that some 42 forest officers had duped the state government for crores of rupees through corruption in confederacy. Hazare submitted the evidences to the government but the latter was reluctant to take action against all these officers as one of the ministers of the ruling party was involved in the scam. A distressed Hazare returned the Padmashree Award to the President of India and also returned the Vriksha Mitra Award given by then prime minister of India Rajiv Gandhi.

He further went on an indefinite hunger strike in Alandi on the same issue. Finally, the government woke up from deep slumber and took action against the culprits. Hazare’s sustained campaign on this issue had a great effect - six of the ministers were forced to resign and more than 400 officers from different government offices were sent back to home.

Hazare realized that it was not enough to merely take action against fraudulent ministers or officers but to change the entire system that was studded with loopholes. Hence, he campaigned for the Right to Information Act. The state government turned a blind eye towards the pleas in this regard and so he first agitated in the historical Azad Maidan in Mumbai in the year 1997. To create mass public awareness about RTI amongst the youth, Hazare traveled extensively throughout the state. The government kept promising that RTI Act would be made but never raised this issue in the house or the state assembly. Hazare did not relent – he agitated at least ten times.

Finally, again he went on an indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan in the last week of July 2003. At last, the President of India signed the draft of the Right to Information Act after his 12-day-long hunger strike and ordered the state government to implement it with effect from 2002. The same draft was considered as the base document for the making of the National Right to Information Act-2005.

After the implementation of the RTI Act-2005, Hazare travelled for more than 12,000 Kms across the state creating awareness about the Act. In the second phase, he interacted with more than one lakh college students and also conducted mass public meetings across 24 districts of the state. The third phase included daily 2-3 public meetings in more than 155 tehsil places. In this massive campaign, posters, banners were displayed and more than one lakh booklets of the provisions of the Act were distributed at a nominal price.

This created enough of awareness and people were educated on the issue of rights of citizens.

Hazare deservedly won the coveted Padmashree and then Padmabhushan. Care International of the USA, Transparency International, Seoul (South Korea) also felicitated him. Apart from this, he received awards worth Rs. 25 lakh and donated the entire amount for the Swami Vivekananda Kritadnyata Nidhi (social gratitude fund). Out of the two lakh rupees received from the above amount, mass marriages are carried of at least 25-30 poor couples every year.

That Hazare has given his life for social betterment is reflected thus: ``I do have my home in the village but I have not entered it for the past 35 years. I have implemented schemes costing more than several crores of rupees but I do not have bank balance. Last 12 years I have been working in the field of eradication of corruption. This movement is run entirely by public support without and grants or sponsorships. I appeal for money wherever I go for a public meeting and urge them to contribute generously. The same money I use to carry out my campaigns. The money collected at such public meetings is counted in front of the villagers and my volunteers issue a receipt of the same on the spot.

He further states that, ``The movement that we started many years back without a penny in wallet, has spread its wings in all the 33 districts and 252 tehsils of the state. Hence we have been instrumental in offering rights to local bodies like Gramsabha, preventing red-tapism and initiating the law of transfers. This has prevented corruption on a large scale. This has also resulted in offering social justice to the economically backward class. The Union Government keeps on making various schemes for poor people in availing kerosene, LPG and pulses on ration card but the middlemen keep on gulping the subsidies of the same. Our efforts made these necessities available to the poor.’’

The state government promoted opening of cooperative societies, credit societies & urban banks. Believing in the principles of cooperative sector, the utmost lower class of the society invested their savings with such cooperative societies. However, the directors of such societies devoured the money and failed to pay back the basic amount to the members of the societies. This created havoc and people were duped for crores of rupees and did not have money for the marriages of their daughters or for medical treatment. Hazare agitated for over eight months. The result was that more than Rs. 125 crore was recovered from defaulters and the members of such societies heaved a sigh of relief. Recovery of around Rs. 400 crores is in the pipeline.

In the future, the BVJA will work for the decentralisation of power and laws related to the same. Says Hazare, ``we have decided to develop centers to create awareness amongst people about govt. schemes and train activists to know the modus operandi of corruption in each sector. As the state government has decided to set up committees at almost every nodal point like state, district, tehsil, and village level with one member on such committee represented by our organisation. We have trained more than 400 volunteers to work on such committees.

Actually the government should train the members of NGOs who can work in the sector of prevention of corruption. Then and then only we can dream of corruption-free state, concludes Hazare.

Sustainable development of any village by making it a “Model Village” and eradication of corruption are two sides of the same coin. If both are adopted, only then there will be an established welfare state.

The First... ( INDIAN )

2010-01-02T21:30:00.001+05:30

The First... ( INDIAN )

Actress of the Talkies
Zubeida, Alam Ara(1931)

Actress to win Padma Shri Award
Nargis Dutt(1958)

Architect
Maha Govinda(5th C.BC)

Aryabhatta Medal Winner
K.R. Ramanathan(1977)

Bharat Ratna Award Winner
C.Rajgopalachari(1954)

British Governor General of Indian Union
Lord Louis Mountbatten(Aug. 15, 1947-June 20, 1948)

Captain of Test Cricket
C.K.Nayudu(1932)

Century in Test Cricket
Lala Amarnath(1933-1934)

Chairman of Rajaya Sabha
S.V.Krishnamoorthy(1952)

Chevalier Award Winner
Sivaji Ganesan

Chief Election Commissioner
Sukumar Sen(1950-1958)

Chief Justice of India
Hiralal J.Kania(1950-1951)

Chief of Air Staff
Sir Thomas Elmhirst(1947-1950)

Chief of Army Staff to die in harness
B.C.Joshi(1994)

Chief of Coast Guard
V.A.Kamath(1978-1980)

Chief of Naval Staff
R.D.Katari(1958-1962)

Commander-in-Chief
K.M.Cariappa(1949-1953)

Cosmonaut
Rakesh Sharma(1984)

Cricketer to have battled in all positions(1 to 11)
Vinoo Mankad

Dada Saheb Phalke Award Winner
Devika Rani Roerich(1969)

Dancer to perform abroad
Uday Shankar

Deputy Prime Minister
Vallabhbhai Patel(1947-1950)

Deputy Prime Minister to die in harness
Vallabhbhai Patel(1950)

Elected President
S.Radhakrishnan(1962-1967)

Emperor of Mughal Dynasty
Babar(1526-1530)

Field Marshal
S.H.F.J.Manekshaw(1973)

Film Star Chief Minister
M.G.Ramachandran(Tamil Nadu, 1977)

Financial Minister to present the Budget three times in a row
Manmohan Singh (1933, 1994, 1995)

Finix Award Winner
Sr.P.C.Sorcar

Geometer
Baudhayana, Sulva Sutras(800 BC)

Governor General of British India
Warren Hastings(1774-1785)

Grammarian
Panini, Ashtadhyaayi(6th C. BC)

Helms Award Winner
Kunwar Digvijay Singh Babu(1952)

Home Minister
Vallabhbhai Patel(1946)

ICS Officer
Satyendranath Tagore

Indian Chief of Air Staff
S.Mukherjee(1954-1960)

Indian Governor General of Indian Union
M.Rajendra Singh(April 1, 1955-May 14, 1955)

Indian Woman President of Indian National Congress
Sarojini Naidu(1925)

J.C.Bose Medal Winner
V.Ramalingaswami(1977)

Jain Tithankara
Rishabha Dev

Jananpith Award Winner
G.Sankara Kurup, Odakuzhal(1965)

Lady of the Indian Film
Devika Rani Roerich

Lata Mangeshkar Award Winner
Naushad(1984)

Lawgiver
Manu, Manu Smirti(3100 BC)

Man to climb Mount Everest without oxygen
Phu Dorjee(1984)

Man to climb Mount Everest
Tanzing Norgay(with Edumund Hillary, 1953)

Man to make solo Flight(from US to India)
Satish Soman(1994)

Man to swim across English Channel
Mihir Sen(1966)

Man to swim several Straits in one calender year
Mihir Sen(1966)

Managing Director of World Bank
Gautam Kaji(1995)

Member of British Parliament
Dadabhai Naoroji(1862)

Member of Viceroy's Executive Council
Sir S.P.Sinha(1909)

Miss Universe
Sushmita Sen(1994)

Miss World
Reita Faria(1966)

Musician to get Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushana
M.S.Subbulakshmi(1954,1975)

Musician to get Ramon Magsaysay Award
M.S.Subbulakshami(1974)

Naval Pilot
Y.N..Singh(1941)

Nishan-Eey-Pakistan Award Winner
Morarji Desai(1991)
Nobel Prize Winner
Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali(1913)

Olympic Medal Winner
Norman Pritchard, Silver(1900)

Oscar Winner
Bhanu Athaiya

Patricide
Ajatshatru's killing of Bimbisara(494 BC)

Physically handicapped mountaineer
Baba Manindra Pal

Pilot
J.R.D.Tata, Tata Airlines(1929)

Presentation of Budget
R.K.Shanmugham Chetty, Finance Minister(1947)

Presentation of General Budget
C.D.Deshmukh, Finance Minister(1952)

President
Rajendra Prasad(1950-1962)

President of Indian National Congress
W.C.Bannerjee(1885)

President of International Court of Justice
Nagendra Singh(1970)

President to die in harness
Zakir Hussain(1967-1969)

Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru(1947-1964)

Prime Minister to be assassinated
Indira Gandhi(1984)

Prime Minister to die in harness
Jawaharlal Nerhru(1964)

Prime Minister to head a minority government
Choudhary Charan Singh(July 28, 1979-Jan,14, 1980)

Prime Minister to resign from office
Morarji Desai(1979)

Prime Minister who did not face Parliament
Chaudhary Charan Singh(July 28, 1979-Jan 14, 1980)

Raman Medal Winner
Salim Moinuddin Ahmed Ali(1979)

Raman Magsaysay Award Winner
Vinoba Bhave(1958)

Recipient of Stalin Peace Prize
Saifuddin Kitchlew(1954)

Recipient of World Food Prize
M.S.Swaminathan(1987)

S..Ramanujan Medal Winner
S.Chandrashekhar(1962)

S.S.Bhatnagar Medal Winner
Atma Ram(1959)

Scientist
Uddalaka Aruni(560 BC)

Slave Ruler of India
Qutb-ud-din Aibak(1206-1210)

Speaker in Hindi at the UN
Atal Bihari Vajpayee(1977)

Speaker of Lok Sabha
Ganesh Vasudeo Mavalankar(1952-1957)

Test-tube baby
Baby Harsha or Indira(1986)

Vice-President
S.Radhakrishnan(1952-1962)

Viceroy of India
Lord Canning (1858-1862)

Woman (Muslim) Ruler of India
Razia Sultana(1236-1240)

Woman Advocate
Cornelia Sorabji(1894)

Woman Ambassador
Vijayalakshmi Pandit(U.S.S.R., 1947-1949)

Woman at Antarctica
Meher Moos(1976)

Woman Central Minister
Rajkumari Amrit Kaur(Health)

Woman Chief Justice(of High Court)
Leila Seth(Himachal Pradesh, 1991)

Woman Chief Minister
Sucheta Kriplani(Uttar Pradesh, 1963-1967)

Woman Foreign Minister
Lakshmi N. Menon(1957-1966)

Woman Secretary General of Rajya Sabha
V.S.Rama Devi(1993)

Woman Governor
Sarojini Naidu(Uttar Pradesh, 1963-1967)

Woman IAS Officer
Anna Rajam George(1950)

Woman IPS Officer
Kiran Bedi(1974)

Woman Jet Commander
Saudamini Deshmukh

Woman Jnanpithpith Award Winner
Ashapurna Devi, Prathama Pratishruti(1976)

Woman Judge of Supreme Court
Meera Sahib Fatima Beevi(1989)

Woman Minister of State
Vijayalakshmi Pandit(Uttar Pradesh, 1937)

Woman Missionary
Sanghamitra, daughter of King Ashoka (Sri Lanka, 3rd C.BC)

Woman Pilot (Commercial)
Prem Mathur(Deccan Airways, 1951)

Woman Pilot (Indian Airlines)
Durga Banerjee(1966-1988)

Woman President of Indian National Congress
Annie Besant(1917)

Woman President of UN General Assembly
Vijayalakshmi Pandit(1953)

Woman Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi(1966-1977, 1980-1984)

Woman Sahitya Akademi Award Winner
Amrita Pritam, Sunehre(1956)

Woman to climb Mount Everest
Bachendri Pal(1984)

Woman to perform a solo Flight
Harita Kaur Deol(1944)

Woman to swim across English Channel
Arati Saha(1959)

Woman to swim across the Strait of Gibraltar
Arti Pradhan

Woman to win an Asian Gold
Kamaljit Sandhu(1970)

Woman to go in Space
Dr.Kalpana Chawla(November 1997)

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Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose (1858-1937)

2009-10-19T18:25:00.001+05:30

Jagadish Chandra Bose was born on 30 November 1858, in Myemsingh, Faridpur, a part of the Dhaka District now in Bangladesh. He attended the village school till he was 11. He then moved to Kolkata where he enrolled in St. Xavier's. He was very much interested in Biology. However, Father Lafont, a famous Professor of Physics, inspired in Bose a great interest in Physics.

Having obtained his B.A. in physical sciences, twenty two year old Bose left for London, to obtain a medical degree. However, he kept falling ill and had to discontinue his plans to be a doctor. He then obtained his B.A. degree from Christ College, Cambridge.

He returned to India in 1885 and joined Presidency College, Kolkata as an Assistant Professor of Physics, where he remained till 1915. There was a peculiar practice in the college at that time. The Indian teachers in the college were paid one third of what the British teachers were paid! So Bose refused his salary but worked for three years. The fourth year he was paid in full! He was an excellent teacher, extensively using scientific demonstrations in class.

Some of his students, such as S. N. Bose went on to become famous physicists themselves.

During this period, Bose also started doing original scientific work in the area of microwaves, carrying out experiments involving refraction, diffraction and polarization. He developed the use of galena crystals for making receivers, both for short wavelength radio waves and for white and ultraviolet light. In 1895, two years before Marconi's demonstration, Bose demonstrated wireless communication using radio waves, using them to ring a bell remotely and to explode some gunpowder.

Many of the microwave components familiar today - waveguides, horn antennas, polarizers, dielectric lenses and prisms, and even semiconductor detectors of electromagnetic radiation - were invented and used by Bose in the last decade of the nineteenth century. He also suggested the existence of electromagnetic radiation from the Sun, which was confirmed in 1944.

Bose then turned his attention to response phenomena in plants. He showed that not only animal but vegetable tissues, produce similar electric response under different kinds of stimuli mechanical, thermal, electrical and chemical.

Bose was knighted in 1917 and soon thereafter elected Fellow of the Royal Society, London, (both as physicist and biologist!). Bose had worked all along without the right kind of scientific instruments and laboratory. For a long time he had been thinking of building a laboratory. The result was the establishment of the Bose Research Institute in Kolkata. It continues to be a famous centre of research in basic sciences.

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Prafulla Chandra Ray (1861-1944)

2009-10-19T18:25:00.000+05:30

Prafulla Chandra was born on 2 August 1861 in Raruli-Katipara, a village in the District of Khulna (in present day Bangladesh). His early education started in his village school. He often played truant and spent his time resting comfortably on the branch of a tree, hidden under its leaves. After attending the village school, he went to Kolkata, where he studied at Hare School and the Metropolitan College. The lectures of Alexander Pedler in the Presidency College, which he used to attend, attracted him to chemistry, although his first love was literature. He continued to take interest in literature, and taught himself Latin and French at home. After obtaining a F.A. diploma from the University of Calcutta, he proceeded to the University of Edinburgh on a Gilchrist scholarship where he obtained both his B.Sc. and D.Sc. degrees.

In 1888, Prafulla Chandra made his journey home to India. Initially he spent a year working with his famous friend Jagadish Chandra Bose in his laboratory. In 1889, Prafulla Chandra was appointed an Assistant Professor of Chemistry in the Presidency College, Kolkata. His publications on mercurous nitrite and its derivatives brought him recognition from all over the world.

Equally important was his role as a teacher - he inspired a generation of young chemists in India thereby building up an Indian school of chemistry. Famous Indian scientists like Meghnad Saha and Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar were among his students.

Prafulla Chandra believed that the progress of India could be achieved only by industrialization. He set up the first chemical factory in India, with very minimal resources, working from his home. In 1901, this pioneering effort resulted in the formation of the Bengal Chemical and Pharmaceutical Works Ltd.

He retired from the Presidency College in 1916, and was appointed as Professor of Chemistry at the University Science College. In 1921 when Prafulla Chandra reached 60 years, he donated, in advance, all his salary for the rest of his service in the University to the development of the Department of Chemistry and to the creation of two research fellowships. The value of this endowment was about two lakh rupees. He eventually retired at the age of 75. In Prafulla Chandra Ray, the qualities of both a scientist and an industrial entrepreneur were combined and he can be thought of as the father of the Indian Pharmaceutical industry.

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Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920)

2009-10-19T18:24:00.002+05:30

Ramanujan was born in Erode, a small village in Tamil Nadu on 22 December 1887. When he was a year old his family moved to the town of Kumbakonam, where his father worked as a clerk in a cloth merchant's shop.

When he was nearly five years old, Ramanujan enrolled in the primary school. In 1898 he joined the Town High School in Kumbakonam. At the Town High School, Ramanujan did well in all subjects and proved himself an able all round scholar. It was here that he came across the book Synopsis of Elementary Results in Pure Mathematics by G. S. Carr. Influenced by the book, he began working on mathematics on his own, summing geometric and arithmetic series.

He was given a scholarship to the Government College in Kumbakonam. However his scholarship was not renewed because Ramanujan neglected all subjects other than mathematics. In 1905 he appeared for the First Arts examination which would have allowed him to be admitted to the University of Madras. Again he failed in all subjects other than mathematics, a performance he repeated in 1906 and 1907 too. In the following years he worked on mathematics, with only Carr's book as a guide, noting his results in what would become the famous Notebooks.

His research paper on Bernoulli numbers, in 1911, brought him recognition and he became well known in Chennai as a mathematical genius. In 1912, with Ramachandra Rao's help, he secured the post of clerk in the accounts section of the Madras Port Trust. He continued to pursue mathematics and in 1913 he wrote to G. H. Hardy in Cambridge, enclosing a long list of his own theorems. Hardy immediately recognized Ramanujan's mathematical ability.

On the basis of Hardy's letters, Ramanujan was given a scholarship by the University of Madras in 1913. In 1914, Hardy arranged for him to go to Trinity College, Cambridge.

Ramanujan's work with Hardy produced important results right from the beginning. In 1916 Ramanujan graduated from Cambridge with a Bachelor of Science by Research. In 1918, he was elected a Fellow of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, a Fellow of the Royal Society of London, and a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, all in the same year! However, from 1917 onwards he was seriously ill and mostly bedridden. In 1919 he returned to India, in very poor health.

Ramanujan made outstanding contributions to analytical number theory, elliptic functions, continued fractions, and infinite series. His published and unpublished works have kept some of the best mathematical brains in the world busy to this day.

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Sir C. V. Raman (1888-1970)

2009-10-19T18:24:00.001+05:30

Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman was born at Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu on 7 November 1888. His father was a lecturer in mathematics and physics so from the very beginning he was immersed in an academic atmosphere. Raman's academic brilliance was established at a very young age. He finished his secondary school education at the tender age of thirteen and entered the Mrs. A.V.N. College at Vishakapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Two years later he moved to the prestigious Presidency College in Chennai.

When he was fifteen, he topped his class to receive his B.A. degree with honours in Physics and English. Raman continued his studies at the Presidency College and when he was barely eighteen, graduated at the top of his class and received his M.A. degree with honours.

Raman joined the Indian Audit and Accounts Service and was appointed the Assistant Accountant General in the Finance Department in Kolkata. In Kolkata, he sustained his interest in science by working in the laboratory of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, in his spare time studying the physics of stringed instruments and Indian drums.

In 1917, Raman gave up his government job to become the Sir Taraknath Palit Professor of Physics at the Science College of University of Calcutta (1917-33). He made enormous contributions to research in the areas of vibration, sound, musical instruments, ultrasonics, diffraction, photoelectricity, colloidal particles, X-ray diffraction, magnetron, dielectrics, etc. In particular, his work on the scattering of light during this period brought him world-wide recognition.

In 1924 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London and a year later was honoured with the prestigious Hughes medal from the Royal Society. Four years later, at the joint meeting of the South Indian Science Association and the Science Club of Central College, Bangalore, he announced his discovery of what is now known as the Raman Effect.

He was knighted in 1929, and in 1930, became the first Asian scientist to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics for his discoveries relating to the scattering of light (the Raman Effect). In 1934, he became the Director of the newly established Indian Institute of Science at Bangalore, where he remained till his retirement. After retirement, he established the Raman Research Institute at Bangalore, where he served as the Director. The Government of India conferred upon him its highest award,the Bharat Ratna in 1954.

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Meghnad Saha (1893-1956)

2009-10-19T18:24:00.000+05:30

Meghnad Saha was born on 6 October 1893 in Sheoratali village near Dhaka in present day Bangladesh. His father Jagannath Saha was a grocer in the village. After primary education, he was admitted to a middle school that was seven miles away from home. He stayed with a doctor near the school and had to work in that house to pay for his boarding and lodging. Overcoming all these difficulties, he stood first in the Dhaka middle school test, thus securing a Government scholarship and joined the Dhaka Collegiate School in 1905.

Great political unrest was prevailing in Bengal, caused by the partition of the province by the British against strong popular opinion. Meghnad Saha was among the few senior students who staged a boycott of the visit by the then Governor, Sir Bampfylde Fuller and as a consequence forfeited his scholarship and had to leave the institution. He then joined the Kisori Lal Jubilee School where he passed the entrance test of the University of Calcutta standing first among students from East Bengal. He graduated from Presidency college with mathematics as his major.

He then joined the newly established Science College in Kolkata as a lecturer and pursued his research activities in physics. By 1920, Meghnad Saha had established himself as one of the leading physicists of the time. His theory of high-temperature ionization of elements and its application to stellar atmospheres, as expressed by the Saha equation, is fundamental to modern astrophysics; subsequent development of his ideas has led to increased knowledge of the pressure and temperature distributions of stellar atmospheres.

In 1920, Saha went to Imperial College, London and later to Germany. Two years later he returned to India and joined the University of Calcutta as Khaira Professor. He then moved to the University of Allahabad and remained there till 1938, establishing the Science Academy in Allahabad (now known as the National Academy of Science). In 1927, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London.

He returned to the University of Calcutta in 1938 where he introduced nuclear physics into the post-graduate physics curriculum. In 1947 he established the Indian Institute of Nuclear Physics (now known as the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics). Later in his life, Saha played an active role in the development of scientific institutions throughout India as well as in national economic planning involving technology.

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Satyendra Nath Bose (1894-1974)

2009-10-19T18:23:00.001+05:30

Satyendra Nath Bose was born on New Years day, 1894 in Goabagan in Kolkata. His father was an accountant in Indian Railways. Satyendra Nath popularly known as Satyen Bose, did his schooling at Hindu School, Kolkata, and then joined Presidency College. He excelled in academics throughout his education Intermediate, B.Sc. and M.Sc. with applied mathematics. His teacher at the Presidency College was Jagadish Chandra Bose - whose other stellar pupil was Meghnad Saha. Bose took his B.Sc. examination in 1913 and his M.Sc examination in 1915. He stood first in both the examinations, the second place going to Meghnad Saha. He worked as a lecturer of physics in the Science College of the University of Calcutta (1916-21) and along with Meghnad Saha, introduced postgraduate courses in modern mathematics and physics. He derived with Saha, the Saha-Bose equation of state for a nonideal gas.

In 1921, Bose left Kolkata to become a Reader at the Dakha University. It was during this period that he wrote the famous paper on the statistics of photons. It was named Bose statistics after him and is now an integral part of physics. Paul Dirac, the legendary physicist, coined the term boson for particles obeying these statistics. Apart from this he did theoretical work on the general theory of relativity and also experimental work on crystallography, fluorescence, and thermoluminescence.

Bose spent about 10 months in Paris in 1924, doing research with Madame Curie and Louis de Broglie. Later he went to Berlin where he met Einstein. He returned to Dhaka in 1926 and became Professor. Shortly before Independence, Bose returned to Kolkata to become the Khaira Professor of Physics, a post he kept till 1956. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1958, and the Government of India named him a National Professor and awarded him the honor of Padma Vibhushan.

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Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar (1894-1955)

2009-10-19T18:23:00.000+05:30

Bhatnagar was born on 21 February 1894 at Bhera, in the district of Shapur in Punjab (now in Pakistan). When he was barely eight months old, his father passed away. He spent his next thirteen years under the care of his maternal grandfather in Bulandshahar in Uttar Pradesh. Under the influence of his grandfather, young Bhatnagar not only developed a taste for engineering and science but also became interested at a very early age in geometry and algebra and in making mechanical toys. In 1911, Shanti published a letter to the editor, in The Leader, Allahabad, on how to make a substitute for carbon electrodes in a battery using molasses and carbonaceous matter under pressure and heat.

Matriculating the same year, he joined the Dayal Singh College, Lahore. After finishing his intermediate examination in first division, Shanti joined the Forman Christian College and after his B.Sc and M.Sc degrees, he spent the next two years at the University of London earning his D.Sc. degree on the surface tension of oils, under the supervision of Professor F.G. Donnan.

Returning to India in 1921, he joined the Benares Hindu University as a Professor, remaining there till 1924. From 1924 to 1940 he served as the Director of the University Chemical Laboratories, Lahore, addressing problems in industrial and applied chemistry.

In August 1940, Bhatnagar took over as the Director of the newly created Directorate of Scientific and Industrial Research. This organisation became the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, with Bhatnagar as its Director. Bhatnagar's tenure saw the setting up of 12 laboratories and the total number of CSIR laboratories today stands at 40.

The British Government conferred on him the Order of the British Empire and in 1941, he was made the Knight Bachelor. In 1943 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and received the Padma Vibhushan (1954) from the Government of India.

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar played a significant part along with Homi Bhabha, Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, Vikram Sarabhai and others in building of post-independence Science & Technology infrastructure and in the formulation of India's science policies.

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Homi Jehangir Bhabha (1909-1966)

2009-10-19T18:22:00.001+05:30

Homi Bhabha was born on 30 October 1909 in Mumbai. Son of a barrister, he grew up in a privileged environment. In Mumbai he attended the Cathedral & John Connon School and then Elphinstone College, followed by the Royal Institute of Science. After passing the Senior Cambridge Examination at the age of sixteen, he joined the Gonvile and Caius College in Cambridge with an intention to pursue mechanical engineering. His mathematics tutor was Paul Dirac, and Bhabha became fascinated with mathematics and theoretical physics. He earned his engineering degree in 1930 and Ph.D. in 1934.

In 1937, together with W. Heitler, a German physicist, Bhabha solved the riddle about cosmic rays. Cosmic rays are fast moving, extremely small particles coming from outer space. When these particles enter the earth's atmosphere, they collide with the atoms of air and create a shower of electrons.

Bhabha's discovery of the presence of nuclear particles (which he called mesons) in these showers was used to validate Einstein's theory of relativity making him world famous.

When the war broke out in Europe, Bhabha was on a holiday in India.

In 1940, C.V. Raman, then head of the Physics Department, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, persuaded Bhabha to join the institute as a Reader in Physics and Bhabha decided to stay back in India. In 1941, Homi Bhabha was elected Fellow of the Royal Society, London, in recognition of his contributions to the field of cosmic rays, elementary particles and quantum mechanics.

Bhabha soon realized the need for an institute fully devoted to fundamental research, and wrote to J.R.D. Tata for funding. This resulted in the establishment of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in Mumbai in 1945, with Bhabha as the Director, a position he held until his death. In 1948, Homi Bhabha was appointed the Chairman of the International Atomic Energy Commission. Under his guidance, nuclear reactors like the Apsara, Cirus and Zerlina were built. He gained international recognition for his excellent work and served as the President of the first United Nations Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, which was held in Geneva in 1955. He was the President of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics from 1960 to 1963.

A multi-faceted personality, Bhabha was immensely fond of music, painting and writing. Some of his paintings are displayed in the British Art Galleries and the TIFR art collection today is rated as one of the best collections of contemporary Indian art in the country.

He is the recipient of the Adam's Award, Padma Bhushan, an Honorary Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States.

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Subramaniam Chandrasekhar (1910-1995)

2009-10-19T18:22:00.000+05:30

Subramaniam Chandrasekhar, a nephew of Sir C.V. Raman, was born on 19 October 1910 in Lahore, (now in Pakistan). His father was an officer in the Department of Audits and Accounts of the Indian Government Services.

Chandrasekhar received his elementary education from his parents and private tutors when he was in Lahore. In 1918 Chandra moved to Chennai where he attended the Hindu High School finishing his secondary school education with honours. He then joined the Presidency College, there taking his Bachelor of Science degree in physics with honours.

His first scientific paper, Compton Scattering and the New Statistics, was published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society in 1928. On the basis of this paper he was accepted as a research student by R.H. Fowler at the University of Cambridge. On the voyage to England, he developed the theory of white dwarf stars, showing that a star of mass greater than 1.45 times the mass of the sun could not become a white dwarf. This limit is now known as the Chandrasekhar limit.

He obtained his doctorate in 1933. Soon after receiving his doctorate, Chandrasekhar was awarded the Prize Fellowship at Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1937, he accepted the position of Research Associate at the University of Chicago. Chandrasekhar stayed at University of Chicago throughout his career, becoming the Morton D. Hall Distinguished Service Professor in Astronomy and Astrophysics in 1952. In 1952 he established the Astrophysical Journal and was its editor for 19 years, transforming it from a local publication of the University of Chicago into the national journal of the

American Astronomical Society. He became a US citizen in 1958. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of London and in 1962 received the Society's Royal Medal. He also received the US National Medal of Science (1966). He was awarded the Nobel prize for Physics in 1983 for his theoretical work on the physical processes of importance to the structure of stars and their evolution. Chandra was a popular teacher who guided over fifty students to their Ph.D.s including some who went on to win the Nobel prize themselves!! His research explored nearly all branches of theoretical astrophysics and he published ten books, each covering a different topic, including one on the relationship between art and science.

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Vikram Sarabhai (1919-1971)

2009-10-19T18:21:00.002+05:30

Vikram Sarabhai was born on 12 August 1919 at Ahmedabad. He had his early education in a private school, 'Retreat' run by his parents on Montessori lines. This atmosphere injected into the young boy the seeds of scientific curiosity, ingenuity and creativity. With a natural inclination towards physics and mathematics, Vikram Sarabhai did not get into his family business.

After school and college in Gujarat, he went to England and obtained his tripos at St. John's College in 1939. He returned to India for a while and worked alongside Sir C.V. Raman in the field of cosmic rays, at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, after which he returned to Cambridge, England for further research in the area and completed his Ph.D. in 1947.

He established the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad in 1948, in a few rooms at the M.G. Science Institute with Professor K.K. Ramanathan as Director. In April 1954, PRL moved into a new building and Dr. Sarabhai made it the cradle of the Indian Space Programme. At the young age of 28, he was asked to organise and create the ATIRA, the Ahmedabad Textile Industry's Research Association and was its Honorary Director during 1949-56. He also helped build and direct the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad from 1962-1965.

Sarabhai pioneered India's space age by expanding the Indian Space Research Organization. India's first satellite Aryabhata launched in 1975, was one of the many projects planned by him. Like Bhabha, Sarabhai wanted the practical application of science to reach the common man. Thus he saw a golden opportunity to harness space science to the development of the country in the fields of communication, meteorology, remote sensing and education. The Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) launched in 1975-76, brought education to five million people in 2,400 Indian villages. In 1965, he established the Community Science Centre in Ahmedabad with a view to popularise science among children. His deep cultural interests led him, along with his wife Mrinalini Sarabhai, to establish Darpana Academy, an institution devoted to performing arts and propagation of ancient culture of India.

He was the recipient of the Bhatnagar Memorial Award for Physics in 1962, the Padma Bhushan in 1966, and was posthumously awarded the Padma Vibhushan. He was the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission in 1966, Vice-President and Chairman of the UN Conference on peaceful uses of outer space in 1968, and President of the 14th General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The International Astronomical Union named a crater in the moon (in the Sea of Serenity) after him, in honour of his contributions to science.

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C. R. Rao (1920 - )

2009-10-19T18:21:00.001+05:30

Calyampudi Radhakrishna Rao was born to C.D. Naidu and A. Laxmikantamma on 10 September 1920 in Huvvina Hadagalli in present day Karnataka. He was the eighth in a family of 10 children. After his father's retirement, the family settled down in Vishakapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. From his earliest years, Rao had an interest in mathematics. After completing high school he joined the Mrs. A.V.N. College at Vishakapatnam for the Intermediate course. He received his M.A. in Mathematics with first rank in 1940. Rao decided to pursue a research career in mathematics, but was denied a scholarship on the grounds of late submission of the application.

He then went to Kolkata for an interview for a job. He did not get the job, but by chance he visited the Indian Statistical Institute, then located in a couple of rooms in the Physics Department of the Presidency College, Kolkata.

He applied for a one-year training course at the Institute and was admitted to the Training Section of the Institute from 1 January 1941. In July 1941 he joined the M.A Statistics program of the Calcutta University. By the time he passed the M.A. exam in 1943, winning the gold medal of the University, he had already published some research papers! In 1943 he joined ISI as a technical apprentice, doing research, teaching in the Training Section of the Institute and at Calcutta University and assisting Professor Mahalanobis in editing Sankhya the Indian Journal of Statistics.

In 1946 he was deputed to the Cambridge University on a project. While working full time on this, he also worked in the genetic laboratory of R.A. Fisher, the father of modern statistics and completed his Ph.D. under Fisher. By this time Rao had already completed some of the work which carries his name: Cramer-Rao inequality, Rao-Blackwell theorem, Rao's score test and Rao's orthogonal arrays. He returned to ISI in 1948 and in 1949 was made a Professor at the very young age of 29. He headed and developed the Research and Training Section of the ISI, and went on to become Director of the ISI. He became the associate editor of the Sankhya in 1964 and became the editor in 1972. He left ISI in 1978 and joined the University of Pittsburgh.

In 1988 he moved to the Pennsylvannia State University holding the Eberly Family Chair in Statistics and the Directorship of the Centre for Multivariate Analysis till 2001.

Dr. Rao is a Fellow of the Royal Society of London, and a Member of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2001. The C.R. Rao Award for Statistics was instituted in his honor, to be given once in two years. In 2002 he was awarded the National Medal of Science of the U.S.A. The Advanced Institute of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science in the Osmania University Campus has been named after him.

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K Chandrasekharan (1920-)

2009-10-19T18:21:00.000+05:30

Komaravolu Chandrasekharan was born on 21 November 1920 in Machilipatnam in modern-day Andhra Pradesh. He attended District Board School in Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh, and then High School at Bapatla, also in Guntur. He then obtained his M.A. in Mathematics from the Presidency College, Chennai and was a Research Scholar in the Department of Mathematics of the University of Madras during 1940-1943. During 1943-46 he was a part-time Lecturer at Presidency College and obtained his Ph.D. during this time under Ananda Rau, who was with Ramanujan in Cambridge.

Chandrasekharan then went to the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, U.S.A. In 1949, while he was in Princeton, he was invited by Homi Bhabha to join the School of Mathematics of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. An extraordinarily gifted organiser and administrator of science, he transformed the fledgling School of Mathematics of TIFR into a centre of excellence respected the world over. He initiated a very successful programme of recruitment and training of Research Scholars at TIFR. The programme continues to this day along the same lines that he set down. He put to excellent use his contacts with the leading mathematicians of the world, persuading many of them (like L. Schwartz, a Fields medalist, and C.L. Siegel) to visit TIFR and deliver courses of lectures over periods of two months and more.

The lecture notes prepared out of these lectures and published by TIFR enjoy a great reputation in the world mathematics community to this day. During 1955-61, he was a member of the Executive Committee of the International Mathematical Union (IMU). He served as the Secretary of IMU during 1961-66 and as President during 1971-74. His initiatives over a long period of 24 years on this Committee were numerous and valued greatly. He served as the Vice President of the International Council of Scientific Unions during 1963-66 and as its Secretary General during 1966-70. He was a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet, Government of India during 1961-66. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1959, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in 1963 and the Ramanujan Medal in 1966.

He was responsible for the IMU sponsoring the International Mathematical Colloquium held every 4 years at the Tata Institute starting 1956.

In 1957 on his initiative, TIFR published the Notebooks of Srinivasa Ramanujan. In the fifties, Chandrasekharan held the editorship of the Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society. Thanks to his abilities at persuading some of the great names in the field to publish there, several great papers appeared in the journal during this period.

In 1965 he left TIFR and moved to Eidgerossische Technische Hochschule, Zurich.

He worked in the fields of number theory and summability. His mathematical achievements are first rate, but his contribution to Indian mathematics has been even greater.

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Har Gobind Khorana (1922 - )

2009-10-19T18:20:00.001+05:30

Har Gobind Khorana was born in Raipur, Punjab, (now in Pakistan) on 9 January 1922. His father was a patwari, a village agricultural taxation clerk in the British-Indian system of government. Har Gobind did his schooling from the D.A.V. High School in Multan. He received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees from the Punjab University in Lahore. Khorana lived in India until 1945, when the award of a Government of India Fellowship made it possible for him to go to England and he studied for a Ph. D. degree at the University of Liverpool.

Khorana spent a postdoctoral year (1948-1949) at the Eidgenössische. Technische Hochschule in Zurich, and then joined Cambridge University, England in 1950, where he worked with Professors G.W. Kenner and Lord A.R. Todd. In 1952 he went to the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. The British Columbia Research Council offered at that time very little by way of facilities, but there was 'all the freedom in the world', to do what the researcher liked to do. He became the Alfred Sloan Professor of Biology and Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1970 and is at present an Emeritus Professor at the Department of Biology at MIT.

Dr. Har Gobind Khorana shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology in 1968 with Marshall Nirenberg and Robert Holley for cracking the genetic code. They established that this code, the biological language common to all living organisms, is spelled out in three-letter words: each set of three nucleotides codes for a specific amino acid. Dr. Khorana was also the first to synthesize oligonucleotides (strings of nucleotides). Today, oligonucleotides are indispensable tools in biotechnology, widely used in biology labs for sequencing, cloning and genetic engineering.

Khorana has won many awards and honors for his achievements, amongst them the Padma Vibhushan, Membership of the National Academy of Sciences, USA as well as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

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G. N. Ramachandran (1922-2001)

2009-10-19T18:20:00.000+05:30

G. N. Ramachandran was born on 8 October 1922 in Ernakulam, Kerala. His father G. Narayana Iyer was the principal of Maharaja's college in Ernakulam. Ramachandran did his intermediate from Maharaja's college and his B.Sc. (Hons) in Physics from St. Joseph's College, Tiruchi. In 1942 he joined the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore as a student in the Electrical Engineering department. However, under the influence of C.V.

Raman, he shifted to Physics. He obtained his M.Sc. and then his Ph.D. in 1947, under Raman's supervision. He then went to the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge and obtained his second Ph.D degree under Prof. Wooster. He returned to India in 1949 and joined IISc as an Assistant Professor. In 1952, at the young age of 30, he moved to Madras as the Head of the Physics Department at the University of Madras. On the suggestion of J.D. Bernal, the crystallographer and chemist, who visited the University in 1952, he started work on determining the structure of the protein collagen, the fibrous protein found in skin, bone and tendon. Based on the limited data available at the time, in 1954, he proposed, along with Gopinath Kartha, the triple-helix structure for collagen, later revised in the light of new data to the coiled coil structure for biomolecules.

This was a fundamental advance in the understanding of biomolecular structures. He and his colleagues C. Ramakrishnan and V. Sasisekharan went on to develop methods to examine and assess structures of biomolecules, in particular peptides. In 1963, this resulted in the famous Ramachandran map, which is an indispensable tool in the study of molecular structures today. His contributions in the field of X-ray crystallography such as anomalous dispersion, new kinds of Fourier syntheses, and X-ray intensity statistics are also extremely important. His 1971 paper with A.V. Lakshminarayanan on three-dimensional image reconstruction was to have important applications in Computer Assisted Tomography. (The 1979 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to A.M. Cormack and Sir G.N. Hounsfield for their work in CAT).

In 1971 Ramachandran returned to Bangalore to set up the Molecular Biophysics Unit at the IISc which is today a major research centre. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1977 and was awarded the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar award. In 1999, The International Union of Crystallography awarded him the prestigious Ewald Prize, which is given only once in three years. He was the editor of Current Science between 1950 and 1957.

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Harish Chandra (1923-1983)

2009-10-19T18:19:00.001+05:30

Harish Chandra was born on 11 October 1923 in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. He attended school in Kanpur and then the University of Allahabad, where he studied theoretical physics. After obtaining his master's degree in 1943 he joined the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore to work further with Homi Bhabha on theoretical physics. Dr. Bhabha arranged for Harish Chandra to go to Cambridge to work for his Ph.D. under the legendary Paul Dirac. In 1947 Dirac visited Princeton for one year and Harish Chandra worked as his assistant during this time. In Princeton he met and was greatly influenced by the great French mathematician Chevalley, giving up physics altogether and taking up mathematics. Harish moved to Columbia University after his year at Princeton.

In 1963, Harish Chandra was invited to become a permanent member of the Institute of Advanced Study at Princeton. He was appointed IBM-von Neumann Professor in 1968.

Harish Chandra received many awards in his career. He was a Fellow of both the Indian Academy of Sciences and the Indian National Science Academy. In 1974, he received the Ramanujan Medal from Indian National Science Academy. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and also won the Cole prize from the American Mathematical Society in 1954 for his papers on representations of semisimple Lie algebras and groups.

Harish Chandra is quoted as saying that he believed that his lack of background in mathematics was in a way responsible for the novelty of his work:-

"I have often pondered over the roles of knowledge or experience, on the one hand, and imagination or intuition, on the other, in the process of discovery. I believe that there is a certain fundamental conflict between the two, and knowledge, by advocating caution, tends to inhibit the flight of imagination. Therefore, a certain naivete, unburdened by conventional wisdom, can sometimes be a positive asset.''

His profound contributions to the representation theory of Lie groups, harmonic analysis, and related areas left researchers a rich legacy that continues today.

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M. K. Vainu Bappu (1927-1982)

2009-10-19T18:19:00.000+05:30

Manali Kallat Vainu Bappu was born on August 10, 1927 to a senior astronomer in the Nizamiah Observatory, Hyderabad. A brilliant student throughout, Vainu Bappu not only excelled in studies but took active part in debates, sports and other extra curricular activities. However, astronomy to which he was exposed from an early age, became his passion. Being a keen amateur astronomer, even as an undergraduate, he had published papers on variable star observations. After obtaining his Masters degree in Physics from Madras University, Vainu Bappu joined the prestigious Harvard University on a scholarship.

Within a few months of his arrival at Harvard, Vainu Bappu discovered a comet. This comet was named Bappu-Bok-Newkirk, after Bappu and his colleagues Bart Bok and Gordon Newkirk who worked out the details of this comet. He completed his Ph.D. in 1952 and joined the Palomar observatory on the prestigious Carnegie Fellowship. There, he and Colin Wilson discovered a relationship between the luminosity of particular kinds of stars and some of their spectral characteristics. This important observation came to be known as the Bappu-Wilson effect and is used to determine the luminosity and distance of these kind of stars.

He returned to India in 1953 and largely through his efforts, he set up the Uttar Pradesh State Observatory in Nainital. In 1960 he left Nainital to take over as the Director of the Kodaikanal Observatory. He modernised the facilities there and it is today an active centre of astronomical research. He however realised that the Kodaikanal Observatory was inadequate for making stellar observations and started searching for a good site for a stellar observatory. As a result of his efforts, a totally indigenous 2.3 meter telescope was designed, fabricated and installed in Kavalur, Tamil Nadu. Both the telescope and the observatory were named after him when it was commissioned in 1986.

He was awarded the Donhoe Comet-Medal (1949) by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, elected as Honorary Foreign Fellow of the Belgium Academy of Sciences and was an Honorary Member of the American Astronomical Society. He was elected President of the International Astronomical Union in 1979.

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Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920)

2009-05-31T17:52:00.000+05:30

Contributed by: James S I (james @ hmil.net)

He got married in 1909 and started looking for a job. His search took him to many influential people, among them Ramachandra Rao, one of the founding members of the Indian Mathematical Society. For a year he was supported by Ramachandra Rao who gave him Rs. 25 per month. He started posing and solving problems in the Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society. His research paper on Bernoulli numbers, in 1911, brought him recognition and he became well known in Chennai as a mathematical genius. In 1912, with Ramachandra Rao's help, he secured the post of clerk in the accounts section of the Madras Port Trust. He continued to pursue mathematics and in 1913 he wrote to G. H. Hardy in Cambridge, enclosing a long list of his own theorems. Hardy immediately recognized Ramanujan's mathematical ability.

On the basis of Hardy's letters, Ramanujan was given a scholarship by the University of Madras in 1913. In 1914, Hardy arranged for him to go to Trinity College, Cambridge.

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Mirza Ghalib

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Prafulla Chandra Ray (1861-1944)

2009-05-31T17:50:00.000+05:30

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Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose (1858-1937)

2009-05-31T17:48:00.000+05:30

Contributed by: James S I (james @ hmil.net)

Some of his students, such as S. N. Bose went on to become famous physicists themselves.

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Greta Garbo

2009-01-26T19:10:00.001+05:30

Contributed by: jc.padmesh @ ascendum.com

(Negotiation tactics, negotiating position, independence and the power of choice)

Greta Garbo (1905-90), the 1930's Swedish-born film star, demonstrated how to negotiate with a bullying adversary, and particularly the tactic of 'walking away'. After Garbo had become established as a major star, she decided to negotiate a contract that suitably reflected her considerable box-office value to the producers. Accordingly she demanded a weekly fee of $5,000 - compared to the derisory $350 a week she'd previously been paid. When film mogul Louis Mayer heard Garbo's demand he offered her $2,500. Garbo replied simply, in her Swedish-American accent, "I think I go home." And off she went.

Garbo returned to her hotel and stayed there, not budging, while Mayer stewed - for seven months - at which Mayer eventually caved in and gave Garbo what she asked for.

(Interestingly Garbo never actually said, "I want to be alone". Their phrase was in fact "I want to be left alone," which her character Grusinskaya said in Garbo's 1932 film Grand Hotel. The resonance of the words with Garbo's real life didn't just extend to her negotiating style: she retired in 1941 with the world still at her feet, and lived the rest of her life an obsessive recluse in New York after becoming a US citizen in 1951.)

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Glenn Cunningham

2009-01-26T19:09:00.001+05:30

Contributed by: Rahul D (bruntno1 @ yahoo.com)

This story should be printed and left where you will see it often - and then everytime you come across a project you think you cannot successfully complete read this story again.

Eight-year-old Glenn Cunningham raced into a burning schoolhouse to rescue his big brother. When he regained consciousness five hours later, his brother was dead and Glenn's horribly burned legs lay limp and without feeling.

Specialists urged his parents to have Glenn's legs amputated immediately

- he would never walk again

- but Glenn pleaded against them.

Even though the toes of his left foot were gone and the bone supporting the ball of his left foot practically destroyed, Glenn was determined to walk again.

That was the summer of 1919.

One week later Glenn announced he was ready to stand up. His father lifted him out of bed, stood him upright and let go.

Glenn crumpled to the floor.

Every day Glenn's parents carefully rubbed his dead limbs.

Every day for weeks, they repeated the lifting-falling exercise.

Then one day, for a few seconds, Glenn Cunningham stood on his own.

A few days later Glenn took a few small, shaky steps.

His parents kept on rubbing his legs. He ate carefully and began to push himself hard, running everywhere he went

- to the fields,

- to the store,

- to school.

In 1930, with no toes on his left foot and almost missing a major bone, Glenn Cunningham set a high school record for the mile run, 4:24.7.

He enrolled in Kansas University and two years later qualified for the Olympics with a United States record-setting mile of 4:11.1.

Despite tonsillitis at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1932, he still finished fourth.

He defeated milers around the world, repeatedly breaking his own records.

In his early thirties he retired, holding the world mile record of 4:04.4.

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The Only Person from Denmark to win the Nobel Prize for Physics

2009-01-01T11:22:00.001+05:30

A teacher asks a student how he would measure the height of a very tall building using a barometer, evidently expecting to hear about the reduced air pressure being proportionate to the elevation.

The student replies: Tie the barometer to a long string, lower the string till the barometer touches the ground, measure the length of the string!

However, what follows is much more interesting: This highly original answer so incensed the examiner that the student was failed.

The student appealed on the grounds that his answer was indisputably correct, and the university appointed an independent arbiter to decide the case. The arbiter judged that the answer was indeed correct, but did not display any noticeable knowledge of physics.

To resolve the problem it was decided to call the student in and allow him six minutes in which to provide a verbal answer, which showed at least a minimal familiarity with the basic principles of physics.

For five minutes the student sat in silence, forehead creased in thought. The arbiter reminded him that time was running out, to which the student replied that he had several extremely relevant answers, but couldn't make up his mind which to use. On being advised to hurry up the student replied as follows:

Firstly, you could take the barometer up to the roof of the skyscraper, drop it over the edge, and measure the time it takes to reach the ground. The height of the building can then be worked out from the formula H = 0.5g x t squared. But bad luck on the barometer." "Or if the sun is shining you could measure the height of the barometer, then set it on end and measure the length of its shadow. Then you measure the length of the skyscraper's shadow, and thereafter it is a simple matter of proportional arithmetic to work out the height of the skyscraper."

"But if you wanted to be highly scientific about it, you could tie a short piece of string to the barometer and swing it like a pendulum, first at ground level and then on the roof of the skyscraper.

The height is worked out by the difference in the gravitational restoring force T = 2 pi square root (l/g)." "Or if the skyscraper has an outside emergency staircase, it would be easier to walk up it and mark off the height of the skyscraper in barometer lengths, then add them up."

"If you merely wanted to be boring and orthodox about it, of course, you could use the barometer to measure the air pressure on the roof of the skyscraper and on the ground and convert the difference in mill bars into feet to give the height of the building."

"But since we are constantly being exhorted to exercise independence of mind and apply scientific methods, undoubtedly the best way would be to knock on the janitor's door and say to him 'If you would like a nice new barometer, I will give you this one if you tell me the height of this skyscraper'."

The student was Neils Bohr, the only person from Denmark to win the Nobel Prize for Physics.

Steve Callahan

2008-12-07T21:38:00.001+05:30

Adrift

Contributed by: Shabbir Kagalwala (kagalwalashabbir @ yahoo.co.in)

In 1982 Steven Callahan was crossing the Atlantic alone in his sailboat when it struck something and sank. He was out of the shipping lanes and floating in a life raft, alone. His supplies were few. His chances were small. Yet when three fishermen found him seventy-six days later (the longest anyone has survived a shipwreck on a life raft alone), he was alive -- much skinnier than he was when he started, but alive.

His account of how he survived is fascinating. His ingenuity -- how he managed to catch fish, how he fixed his solar still (evaporates sea water to make fresh) -- is very interesting.

But the thing that caught my eye was how he managed to keep himself going when all hope seemed lost, when there seemed no point in continuing the struggle, when he was suffering greatly, when his life raft was punctured and after more than a week struggling with his weak body to fix it, it was still leaking air and wearing him out to keep pumping it up. He was starved. He was desperately dehydrated. He was thoroughly exhausted. Giving up would have seemed the only sane option.

When people survive these kinds of circumstances, they do something with their minds that gives them the courage to keep going. Many people in similarly desperate circumstances give in or go mad. Something the survivors do with their thoughts helps them find the guts to carry on in spite of overwhelming odds.

I tell myself I can handle it," wrote Callahan in his narrative. "Compared to what others have been through, I'm fortunate. I tell myself these things over and over, building up fortitude...."

I wrote that down after I read it. It struck me as something important. And I've told myself the same thing when my own goals seemed far off or when my problems seemed too overwhelming. And every time I've said it, I have always come back to my senses.

The truth is, our circumstances are only bad compared to something better.. But others have been through much worse. I've read enough history to know you and I are lucky to be where we are, when we are, no matter how bad it seems to us compared to our fantasies. It's a sane thought and worth thinking.

So here, coming to us from the extreme edge of survival, are words that can give us strength. Whatever you're going through, tell yourself you can handle it. Compared to what others have been through, you're fortunate. Tell this to yourself over and over, and it will help you get through the rough spots with a little more fortitude.

Being an Example

2008-11-09T13:54:00.001+05:30

Being an Example

Contributed by: Aarthi Vijayasarathy (aarthi.vijayasarathy @ gmail.com)

The story is told of Benjamin Franklin wanting to install street lightening in Philadelphia. He knew the city fathers wouldn't pay the price for the installation, so he hung a beautiful lantern on a bracket in front of his home to give light.

When people would pass his house, after stumbling in the dark in other areas, they would rejoice in Franklin's well-lit area. It was not long before his neighbors did just as he did and hung lanterns in front of their homes. Before long, the whole city begin to see the value of lighting the streets.

What Ben Franklin achieved was not by arguments, but by example. One example is worth a thousand arguments. No wonder God's Word tells us to be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, and in purity.

May our prayer be for the God to make our lives and influence count for the good of others and for God's glory. "One can chase a thousand and two can put ten thousand" to flight, if the Lord be the Rock of their salvation. Together, God's people can make a difference as "salt and light" in this world.

~ Jo Ann Kelly ~

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Richard Branson

2008-11-09T12:11:00.000+05:30

Contributed by: Shabbir Kagalwala (kagalwalashabbir @ yahoo.co.in)

Richard Branson, founder and chairman of London-based Virgin Group, didn't breeze through school. In fact, school was something of a nightmare for him. His scores on standardized tests were dismal, pointing to a dismal future. He was embarrassed by his dyslexia and found his education becoming more and more difficult. He felt as if he had been written off.

However, his educators failed to detect his true gifts. His ability to connect with people on a personal level, an intuitive sense of people, was not detected until a frustrated Richard Branson started a student newspaper with fellow student Jonny Gems. The incredible success of the Student was but the start of a richly diverse and successful career.

Despite the difficulties and challenges posed by his dyslexia, by focusing on his inner talents, Richard Branson successfully overcame his difficulties. From his first taste of success and believing in himself, Richard Branson never looked back.

Sabeer Bhatiya

2008-10-29T11:14:00.001+05:30

Contributed by: Shabbir Kagalwala (kagalwalashabbir @ yahoo.co.in)

Sabeer Bhatiya an ordinary guy from Bangalore, India; came to Los Angeles eleven years ago, in September 1988. He was 19 at that time and had only $250 in his pocket and knew nobody in America.

Sabeer intended to complete his degrees and go back to India to work with some Large Indian Company as an engineer. Sabeer did his MS in 1993. Sabeer thought that one should be superhuman to start a company and it was an impossible task for him.

But during his graduation in Stanford, he used to spend his lunch hours in the basement of Terman Auditorium. He listened to enterpreneurs like Scott Mc Nealy MBA's 80, Steve Wozniak and Marc Andreesen, they all had a common message - 'You can do it too'. Sabeer knew that famous people always says so to inspire others.

After completing his graduation Sabeer dropped the idea of going home. He took up a job with Apple Computers and so did Jack Smith, his friend and co-worker.

Sabeer and Jack had a dream to start a company and they were really working hard on it. They wanted to email notes to each other, but they were afraid of being accused by their bosses of spending their working hours on personal projects. They had personal American Online account, but they could not access it from office network. Jack was frustrated by all this problem. And this gave birth to an idea of free e-mail accounts that can be accessed anonymously over the web - HOTMAIL.

In mid-1995, Sabeer began his business plan for a netbased personal database called Javasoft. Javasoft became the front for Hotmail for Jack and Sabeer in December.

Sabeer knew Hotmail was an explosive concept. Sabeer convinced Imperial Bank to loan him $100,00. Then he convinced McLean Public Relations to represent Hotmail in exchange of stock.

In June the product was ready to launch, at that time they had 15 employees working for them. They launched it on July 4, 1996 - Independence Day - as Sabeer and Jack thought free email was a great Independent idea and populist tool. Every body who owned a computer had their own email accounts, but with webmail, they could log on from anywhere in the world. The first users found it all by themselves and then it spread like a forest fire. There were 100 in the first hour, 200 in the second hour and 250 in the third hour. The idea was so intuitively powerful that 80% of those who signed up for Hotmail; learned about it from a friend.

In just 2 1/2 years, Sabeer built Hotmail user base faster than any media company in history- Faster than CNN, faster than America Online. By summer 1998, with 25 million active e-mail accounts, the company was signing up new users at the rate of 125,000 a day.

On New year eve of 1997 the negotiations with Microsoft was finalised and the ownership of Hotmail was exchanged for 2,769,148 shares of Microsoft worth $400 million. Everbody in the valley was shocked with the dealing. But 8 months after the New Years announcement, Microsofts $400 million price tag looked like a bargain, considering Hotmail had more than tripled in size since it was purchased. Nobody thinks the price was unjust anymore. Sabeer had a 3 year commitment (through 2000) to head Hotmail for Microsoft.

Being the head of the world's fastest-growing media company, backed with Microsoft's financial muscles Hotmail's Juggernaut appears unstoppable. He feels absurd when people call him â Powerful Man. He is just ordinary flesh and blood like any other man.

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The Three Skills of Ordinary Genuis by Philip Humbert

2008-10-07T17:15:00.002+05:30

Contributed by: Babajan1 @ go4b.net.pk

Source of text: Unknown

I'm convinced that a great life is rarely built on a brilliant flash of inspiration or one profound insight. More often great lives are built by ordinary people, doing ordinary things, extraordinarily well.

Do you remember the old cliché that even the rich and famous "put their pants on one leg at a time?" I've always loved that insight. It gives me a sense of power and freedom and boosts my self-esteem. It gives me a chance to be "just like" my heroes.

This week I read Stephen Ambrose' biography of President Eisenhower. Obviously, "Ike," was one of the great heroes of World War II and arguably one of our better presidents. But he wasn't "brilliant" in terms of IQ. He was in the middle of his class ("average") at West Point, and no one saw him as a unique talent. Ambrose makes the comment that if one fortuitous promotion that sent him to work in Washington had gone differently, "the world would never have heard of Col. Eisenhower." How true! And, in a wonderful way, how inspiring!

Eisenhower did have three great gifts, but they were "ordinary" gifts that you and I can learn and apply in our lives.

First, he worked very, very hard. He was up early, stayed late, immersed himself in each task until it was done right and on time. His "genius" was the "ordinary genius" of dedication, duty and discipline. I may not be able to copy that exactly, but I can certainly learn from it. I can do my best and appreciate the results of "out working the competition."

The second of Eisenhower's great skills was his ability to focus on things that mattered! Many of us work hard. In fact, I often argue that many of us work too hard because our time, our energy and our focus is on things that don't really matter. We "sweat the small stuff." Ike never did that. Even his critics acknowledged his gift for calmly assessing a situation and spotting the "leverage point" that would make all the difference.

Here's an example. For six months before D-Day, June 6th 1944, he made a point to meet with his chief meteorologist every single day. He knew that guns and ships and strategy were all important, but ultimately the invasion would depend on the weather and he wanted to assess the skills of his chief forecaster. In the end, on a stormy night with rain pelting against the windows, he made the decision to "go" because he trusted his weatherman. He knew he would get a 6-hour window of clearing weather and that was all he needed. The course of the war changed over-night because Ike focused on the weather and knew his meteorologists could be trusted.

Finally, Eisenhower insisted on choosing the right people and relying on them. He frequently refused to work with people if they were unreliable or ineffective. He wanted the best people around him. Notably, after giving the order to "go" on June 5th, Ike went to bed. There was literally nothing more for him to do! All the orders, all the staff work, all the plans were in capable hands and his work (for the moment) was done. He didn't try to do it all himself. He chose good people, delegated responsibility and trusted that the right things would be done, in the right way, at the right time.

For me, there is great hope in this! Eisenhower wasn't some unique genius beyond my ability to comprehend. To the contrary, much of his achievement came from knowing three basic skills that I (or anyone) can learn. He worked hard. He could identify the key leverage points. He chose to work and associate with the best people he could find, and he trusted them. I can do this, and so can you.

By Philip Humbert

Swami Vivekananda: Part 12

Dr. C.V. Raman: Part 12

Swami Vivekananda: Part 11

Dr. C.V. Raman: Part 11

Swami Vivekananda: Part 9

Rabindranath Tagore

2008-10-07T17:15:00.001+05:30

Rabindranath Tagore, also known by the sobriquet Gurudev, was born in Calcutta, India into a wealthy Brahmin family. He was a Bengali poet, Brahmo Samaj philosopher, visual artist, playwright, novelist, and composer whose works reshaped Bengali literature and music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A cultural icon of Bengal and India, he became Asia's first Nobel laureate when he won the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature. Tagore's works included Gitanjali (Song Offerings), Gora (Fair-Faced), and Ghare-Baire (The Home and the World). His verse, short stories, and novels - many defined by rhythmic lyricism, colloquial language, meditative naturalism, and philosophical contemplation - received worldwide acclaim. Tagore was also a cultural reformer and polymath who modernised Bangla art by rejecting strictures binding it to classical Indian forms. Two songs from his rabindrasangeet canon are now the national anthems of Bangladesh and India: the Amar Shonar Bangla and the Jana Gana Mana. He was born on 7 May 1861 in Kolkata, India and Died on 7 August 1941 in Kolkata, India.

Quotes

· You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.

· I slept and dreamt that life was Joy. I woke and saw that life was Duty. I acted, and behold, Duty was Joy.

· Let your life lightly dance on the edges of Time like dew on the tip of a leaf.

· The emancipation of our physical nature is in attaining health, of our social being in attaining goodness, and of our self in attaining love.

· Do not say, "It is morning," and dismiss it with a name of yesterday. See it for the first time as a newborn child that has no name.

· Your idol is shattered in the dust to prove that God's dust is greater than your idol.

· According to the true Indian view, our consciousness of the world, merely as the sum total of things that exist, and as governed by laws, is imperfect. But it is perfect when our consciousness realizes all things as spiritually one with it, and therefore capable of giving us joy. For us the highest purpose of this world is not merely living in it, knowing it and making use of it, but realizing our own selves in it through expansion of sympathy; not alienating ourselves from it and dominating it, but comprehending and uniting it with ourselves in perfect union.

· I have become my own version of an optimist. If I can't make it through one door, I'll go through another door - or I'll make a door. Something terrific will come no matter how dark the present.

· We live in the world when we love it.

· We gain freedom when we have paid the full price.

· Children are living beings - more living than grown-up people who have built shells of habit around themselves. Therefore it is absolutely necessary for their mental health and development that they should not have mere schools for their lessons, but a world whose guiding spirit is personal love.

· Objects of knowledge maintain an infinite distance from us who are the knowers. For knowledge is not union. Therefore the further world of freedom awaits us there where we reach truth, not through feeling it by senses or knowing it by reason, but through union of perfect sympathy.

· It is very simple to be happy, but it is very difficult to be simple.

· If you shut the door to all errors, truth will be shut out.

· Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers, but to be fearless in facing them. Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain, but for the heart to conquer it.

· Asks the Possible of the Impossible, "Where is your dwelling-place?" "In the dreams of the Impotent," comes the answer.

· Life is perpetually creative because it contains in itself that surplus which ever overflows the boundaries of the immediate time and space, restlessly pursuing its adventure of expression in the varied forms of self-realization.

· Beauty is in the ideal of perfect harmony which is in the universal being; truth the perfect comprehension of the universal mind. We individuals approach it through our own mistakes and blunders, through our accumulated experience, through our illumined consciousness - how, otherwise, can we know truth?

· We come nearest to the great when we are great in humility.

· There are two kinds of adventurers; those who go truly hoping to find adventure and those who go secretly hoping they won't.

· In love all the contradiction of existence merge themselves and are lost. Only in love are unity and duality not at variance. Love must be one and two at the same time. Only love is motion and rest in one. Our heart ever changes its place till it finds love, and then it has its rest. Bondage and liberation are not antagonistic in love. For love is most free and at the same time most bound.

Aristotle

2008-10-07T17:10:00.000+05:30

Contributed by: Swati Singh

Aristotle, one of Plato's greatest students, was born in 384 BC. Aristotle's father was a physician to the king of Mecadonia, and when Aristotle was seven years old, his father sent him to study at the Academy. He was there at the beginning as a student, then became a researcher and finally a teacher. He seemed to adopted and developed Platonic ideas while there and to have expressed them in dialogue form. When Plato died, Plato willed the Academy not to Aristotle, but to his nephew Speusippus. Aristotle then left Athens with Xenocrates to go to Assos, in Asia Minor, where he opened a branch of the Academy. This Academy focused more on biology than its predecessor that relied on mathematics.

There he met Hermias, another former student of Plato, who had become king of Assos. Aristotle married Hermias niece, Pythias, who died ten years later. During these years in Assos, Aristotle started to break away from Platonism and developed his own ideas.

King Philip of Macedonia invited Aristotle to the capitol around 343 BC to tutor his thirteen-ear-old don, Alexander. Tutoring Alexander in the Academy in Assos, Aristotle still remained the president of the Academy. In 359 BC, Alexander's father, King Philip decided to set off to subdue the Greek city-states, and left Alexander in charge, thus stopping Aristotle's tutoring of Alexander.

King Philip was then murdered, in 336 BC, and Alexander then became king. He mobilized his father's great army and subdued some city-states, thus becoming "Alexander The Great".

In 335 BC, Aristotle returned to Athens. Speusippus had died, but Aristotle was again not given the presidency of the Academy in Athens, instead, it was given to one of his colleagues Xenocrates. So, Aristotle founded his own school this time, it was named the Lyceum, named after Apollo Lyceus. In 323 BC, twelve years after founding the Lyceum, Alexander the Great died. In Greece resentment against the Macedonia hegemony seethed and riots broke out. Aristotle was accused of impiety, and his life become in serious jeopardy. So he left Athens, and went to his late mother's estate at Chalcis on the island of Euboea. He died there in the next year, 322 BC.

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George Dantzig

2008-07-16T20:50:00.001+05:30

Contributed by: Bharathi Sarkar

The famous Mathematician who's contributions to Operations Research and systems engineering have made him immortal.

As a college student, George studied very hard and often late into the night. So late, that he overslept one morning, arriving 20 minutes late for Prof. Neyman's class. He quickly copied the two maths problems on the board, assuming they were the homework assignment. It took him several days to work through the two problems, but finally he had a breakthrough and dropped the homework on Neyman's desk the next day.

Earn in $$$$$$$$

Six weeks later, on a Sunday morning, George was awakened at 6 a.m . by his excited professor. Since George was late for class, he hadn't heard the professor announce that the two unsolvable equations on the board were mathematical mind-teasers that even "Einstein" hadn't been able to answer.

But George Dantzig, working without any thoughts of limitation, had solved not one, but two problems that had stumped mathematicians for thousands of years.

Simply put, George solved the problems because he didn't know he couldn't. You are not limited to the life you now live. It has been accepted by you as the best you can do at this moment. Any time you're ready to go beyond the limitations currently in your life, you're capable of doing that by choosing different thoughts. All you must do is figure out how you can do it, not whether or not you can. And once you have made your mind up to do it, it's amazing how your mind begins to figure out how.

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

As I was passing the elephants, I suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from the ropes they were tied to but for some reason, they did not.

I saw a trainer near by and asked why these beautiful, magnificent animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. "Well," he said, "when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it's enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free."

I was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn't, they were stuck right where they were.

Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before?

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Dr. C.V. Raman: Part 13

2008-05-04T20:39:00.003+05:30

When Raman stepped into the field of research, Modern Physics was in its infancy. It developed numerous branches by the time he began working in his own Institute. Then research workers had access to modern equipment and methods, which were not available six decades earlier. They tended to study a small field and to specialize in it. But Raman never limited his activities and interests to a narrow field.

Raman once inaugurated the 'General Practitioners' Conference' in Bangalore. A general practitioner is a doctor who treats common illnesses. Raman humorously commented on that occasion that he was a general practitioner in science. He liked all scientific problems whether they were small or big. His interest and satisfaction lay in finding a solution to the problem.

In 1969, the daughter of Nagendranath (who had been a research student under him thirty years earlier) was married; Raman and his wife attended thereception. Raman drew Nagendranath aside and explained his new problem; he was trying to find a theory of earthquakes taking into account the actual shape of the earth and the wave-like nature of the quakes. Raman was not a person to be satisfied with his past achievements. He was always seeking new and vaster fields of study.

Raman was a delightful speaker. Sprinkled with good humor, his talk was usually focussed on realities. Raman used to say that the color of the sea interested him more than the fish, which lived in it. He thought that we should have our own ships for oceanographic research (the study of the sea). He often said that India lost her freedom because she took no interest in the seas.

Friends and admirers organized a special function at the Annual Session of the Academy at Ahmedabad to honor him on his eightieth birthday. Many people expressed warm sentiments. Raman never took much interest in birthday celebrations. Still, at the end. He thanked the organizers; and with a twinkle in his eyes, he said, "I wish some one had said that I had a lion's heart!" All who had spoken forgot to make mention of his great asset, namely courage.

Raman was studious. He kept in touch with the latest developments in science in the

world around him. He had personal contact with many scientists. He used to read new books and research papers from different centres. On one occasion he was addressing the students of Presidency College, Madras. Like an elder brother he told them, "How much can you learn in an hour's lecture? Spend more time in the library." Studying and experimenting, he remained a student throughout his life.

"The equipment which brought me the Nobel Prize did not cost more than three hundred rupees. A table drawer can hold all my research equipment's," he used to say with pride. It was his conviction that if the research worker is not inspired from within an amount of money can bring success in research.

He hoped that scientists of free India would win worldwide fame by their discoveries. "If there are no facilities here, what is wrong with their going abroad and spreading the fame of India? Did not the workers of the East India Company come and rule India?" he used to say.

Raman was not conservative in his outlook. He used to spell out his opinions boldly., When he was called 'India's illustrious scientist' he would correct the description with humility: "I am just a man of science." When scientists were criticized he would retort with confidence that they were the salt of the earth.

Swami Vivekananda: Part 13

2008-05-04T20:39:00.001+05:30

By the time he arrived in India, Swamiji's fame had spread far and wide. When he landed in Colombo on 15th January 1897,he was accorded a welcome that befitted and Emperor. When he reached Madras there was an unprecedented crowd at the railway station. He was carried in procession in a coach drawn by an admiring crowd. Innumerable addresses and garlands were presented to him.

Thereafter, wherever Swamiji went, he disseminated the message of his master. To those who came to him for guidance he taught the importance of spiritual development. To his fellow monks he explained the importance of dedicated service. He repeatedly told them that it was mere selfishness to look for personal salvation. He used to say, "I do not want salvation, as long as there is a single sorrow-stricken man in India." He had realized that social service was possible only through the concerted efforts on an organized mission. That is why he started Sri Ramakrishna Mission in 1897 and formulated its ideology and goal. During the next two years he bought a site at Belur on the banks of the Ganga, constructed the buildings and established the Ramakrishna Mutt.

The body is no more, but the voice is deathless. Swamiji's health was constantly eroded owing to tireless work. He visited many hill resorts in the Himalayas. But even there his missionary work continued. He visited many cities in North India in response to public demand. He visited America again at the invitation of his American disciples. He participated in the Conference of Religions n Paris and returned home.

In spite of the entreaties of his disciples he would not rest. He became more inward looking. The body grew weak, but the mind and the soul remained alert and active.

On 4th July 1902 he performed his daily routine. He taught his disciples as usual. He rested for a while after food; after some time he had a shock. He spent a pleasant time talking to his followers and even cracking jokes. That night at nine 'o' clock he looked tired and his hands were trembling. He cried and sat up. He breathed a deep sigh and went to sleep. Within a short while he attained eternal bliss. His disciples and fellow-teachers felt orphaned and cried like children.

Although Swamiji is no longer with us, his words live. His message has continued to inspire millions of his countrymen. His voice can comfort the suffering and sanctify their lives.

Listen again: "You rejoice that you belong to the race of the great sages. But until those who belong to the upper classes help to uplift the downtrodden, and until exploitation ends, India will only be a grave. May Mother India step forth anew from the humble dwelling of the peasant! May she appear in the hut of the fisherman! May she step forth from the cottages of the cobbler and the sweeper! May she become manifest in godowns and factories! May the song of New India echo and reverberate amidst mountains and in forests and valleys!"

Swami Vivekananda: Part 12

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"He speaks without a scrap of paper in his hand. We see in him some of the qualities of Jesus himself. A strange attire, a radiant personality, a rare elegance, the skill to epitomize Hinduism superbly-with these gifts he has won the hearts of our people. He is mesmeric. He is unsurpassed in conversation. His mastery of English is exceptional. A man like him appears only once in age. We are fortunate that we can see him and hear him, "- thus the newspapers went into raptures.

Till then Americans had the impression that Indians were superstitious and ignorant. Thanks to Swamiji's persistent efforts, India was elevated to an honored position not only in America, but in the entire comity of progressive nations.

Wherever Swamiji went, people flocked to listen to him and waited patiently. After the speech they would invite him to their houses and treat him as an honored guest. They would entertain him lavishly. At such times, Swamiji was constantly and painfully reminded of the poverty and squalor of India. The opulence around him would become unbearable. He spent many a sleepless and tearful night.

Meanwhile, he received pressing invitations from England. A rousing reception awaited him in London when he arrived there. The newspapers were all praise for the Hindu Yogi's oratory and outlook. Many became his disciples. Among them was Margaret Nivedita'. She came to India and settled here.

Swami Vivekananda returned to India after his foreign tour lasting four years.

Dr. C.V. Raman: Part 12

2008-04-30T18:18:00.001+05:30

Once in Paris he went shopping for diamonds and crystals. There two beautiful butterflies with blue wings in a shop window attracted him. He bought them and later collected thousands of specimens.

Raman loved flowers for their colors. He grew many flower plants. He used to visit

flower exhibitions to examine flowers.

Raman used to announce his newscientific discoveries at the annual sessions of the Academy. At the Madras session (1967) he discussed the influence of the earth's rotation on its gaseous envelope. Next year he put forward his theory of the physiology of vision.

Many countries and institutions continued to honor him. The membership of the

American Optical Society (1941), the National Professorship of India (1948), the

Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute (1951), the International Lenin Prize (1957), the Membership of the Pontifical Academy of Science (1961) -these were some of the honors conferred on him.

The greatest honor the Government of India confers on an Indian is the award of 'Bharat Ratna'. Raman became a 'Bharat Ratna' in 1954.

Raman was a great lover of music. He used to say, "I should live long, because I have not heard all the music I want to hear." He was a frequent visitor to a shop selling musical instruments in Balepet, in Bangalore. He collected a variety of musical instruments like the Mridangam, the Tabla, the Veena, the Violin and the Nagaswaram.

'The Catgut Acoustical Society' of America is devoted exclusively to the study of violins. It elected Raman as its honorary member.

Swami Vivekananda: Part 11

2008-04-28T19:05:00.005+05:30

The conference state on 11th September 1893. Thousands of delegates belonging to deferent countries of the world had gathered at the conference. Vivekananda was the youngest of them all. When it was his turn to speak, his throat went dry. Besides, he did not have, like the other delegates, a prepared speech. He requested the President to let him be the last speaker, His turn did come as the last speaker, He prayed fervently to Sri Ramakrishna and Mother Sharadadevi, and stood up to speak.

When he began his address in his pleasing voice with the words "Brothers and Sisters of America," there was a thunderous applause; it lasted for a full three minutes. When it subsided at last he continued his short speech. He said that people born in different religions finally reach the same God, as river born in different places finally reaches the sea. He emphatically declared that no religion is superior and none is inferior. The delegates, every one of them, praised his speech. Newspapers carried his photographs and his speech. In later days people flocked chiefly to listen to his speech. He became the darling of the crowds. Whenever he rose to speak there was deafening applause.

Even as the conference was in session, many institutions and associations extended invitations to Swami Vivekananda. Rich people begged Vivekanda to honor them with a visit.Within a short time he became world famous. Wherever he went, he dwelt at length on the greatness of Indian Culture. He spoke with spontaneous ease on every topic, be it History, Sociology, Philosophy or Literature.

Dr. C.V. Raman: Part 11

2008-04-28T19:05:00.003+05:30

Once a candidate attended an interview for a research post in the Tata Institute. He had passed in the first class. He was asked, "Are there any scientific problems you would like to work on?" There was no satisfactory answer. Physically also the candidate was weak. Raman advised him, "Research is strange work. Success in it brings limit less joy whereas failure pushes one to deep despair. Joy and despair - both require bodily strength. You should first improve your bodily strength through sports and exercises."

In order to encourage scientific research in India, Raman established the Indian Academy of Sciences in 1934. From that year the science journal 'The Proceedings of the Academy' is being published every month.

The Government of Mysore granted 24 acres of land to promote the activities of the Academy. It was his earnest desire 'to bring into existence a centre of scientific research worthy of our ancient country, where the keenest intellectuals of our land can probe into the mysteries of the Universe'. He fulfilled his wish by establishing a Research Institute atHebbal, Bangalore. He did not seek help from the Government but have away all his property to the Institute. The Executive Committee of the Academy named the centre 'Raman Research Institute'.

In 1948 this great scientist entered on one more active phase of life when he became the Director of the Raman Research Institute. The Institute became the centre of all his activities. A garden and tall eucalyptus trees surrounded it. He used to say, "A Hindu is required to go to the forest in old age, but instead of going to the forest, I made the forest come to me." At the Institute he could concentrate on things that interested him. He was alone with his work and was happy. At the entrance to the Institute was a board bearing the words, "The Institute is not open to visitors. Please do not disturb US."

He did research on sound, light, rocks, gems, birds, insects, butterflies, sea shells, trees, flowers, atmosphere,weather and physiology of vision and hearing. His study covered such different fields of science as Physics, Geology, Biology and Physiology. Among them sound and colors particularly attracted him. Once he even went round shops to select sarees of different color designs.

Raman collected rocks and precious stones. His invaluable collection included hundreds of objects such as sand that melted due to lightning, rock indicating the lava flow during a volcano and diamonds, rubies and sapphires. Many fluorescent minerals (that is,minerals having the property of receiving short invisible rays and sending out long visible rays) were kept in a dark room. There he could create a small twinkling world by switching on the ultra-violet light. Thin layers of some crystals were prepared for study. No color was seen when they were viewed perpendicularly. But the viewer had only to change the angle and blue, green and yellow colors delighted the eye. After a deep study of diamonds Raman explained many of their characteristics.

Swami Vivekananda: Part 9

2008-04-28T19:05:00.001+05:30

While Swamiji was travelling by train, in Rajasthan an interesting incident took place. He was resting in a second class compartment. Two Englishmen were profusely hurling abuses at him. They were under the impression that the Swamiji did not know English. When the train reached the station. Swamiji asked an official, in English, for a glass of water. The Englishmen were surprised; they asked Swamiji why he was silent though he could understand them. Swamiji snapped back, "This is not the first time I have met fools." The Englishmen were enraged, but Swamiji's formidable physique silenced them.

During his travel, Swamiji could travel by train only if somebody bought him his ticket. Otherwise, he had to travel on foot. He had to starve most of the time for he had no money. Once it happened that a merchant travelling with him was helping himself to varieties of eatables. Swamiji was hungry and tired. But he did not beg for food. The merchant spoke to him tauntingly and said, "You are an idler. You wear the saffron clothes only because you do not want to work. Who will ever feed you? Who cares if you die?" Just then, a sweetmeat seller offered Swamiji some eatables and said, "I saw you in my dream this morning. The Lord Sri Rama himself introduced you to me." The haughty merchant was put to shame when he saw all this.

In Mysore, Swamiji got to know Diwan Swshadri Iyer and also the Maharaja of Mysore. The Swamiji's discourse in Sanskrit at a gathering of scholars deeply impressed the Maharaja. One day he questioned the Swamiji as to his future plans. "India is the land of many religions and schools of philosophy. The Western world has progressed in science. Human welfare is possible only by a reconciliation of the two. Therefore, I want to go to America in order to propagate Vedanta," said Swamiji. The Maharaja said, "Then I shall bear all the expenses of the visit." Swamiji thanked the Maharaja for his offer and promised him that he would make use of it when he needed it, and took leave of him.

Swamiji next visited Ramanad. Bhaskara Setupati was the ruler of Ramanad at that time. He discussed with Swamiji the problems that the country was facing. The prince treated him with great respect. "You should attend the Conference of World Religions in America. I shall bear all your travel expenses," said the ruler. Assuring the prince that he would give serious thought to his suggestion, Swamiji went to Rameshwaram and from there he finally reached Kanyakumari. He swam to a rock and sat on it. Surrounded there by the sea, he reflected on the state of affairs in India. The thought of the poverty of the masses in this country made him miserable. He decided that unless casteism was rooted out, there could be no salvation for his countrymen. He concluded that his first task was to go Western countries and expose the spiritual values of India. He would then return to awaken his own slumbering land.

Dr. C. V. Raman: Part 10

2008-04-25T18:59:00.001+05:30

He came to Bangalore as the Director of the Tata Institute (the Indian Institute of Science) in 1933. The Tata Institute soon became famous for the study of crystals. The diffraction of light (the very slight bending of light around corners) by ultrasonic waves (high frequency sound waves which we cannot hear) in a liquid was elegantly explained by Raman and Nagendranath. This became known as the 'Raman-Nath Theory'.

Raman was an early riser and used to take morning walks regularly. The sight of tall

trees against the sky at dawn delighted him. By six in the morning he would be in the chamber where he worked. Up to 9 a.m. he would devote his time to discussion with students who were experimenting and to the study of research papers. At 10 o'clock he would be in the Directors office. He would complete the office work and return to the laboratory. He would be immersed in research till 8.30 p.m. He used to arrange two or three seminars every week. At these seminars all the workers would come together to discuss various problems of their research.

Whenever students showed new results, Raman was delighted. He would guide them to do further work. If they appeared to be depressed he would inspire them to fresh efforts.

A student was once experimenting with an X-ray tube of one-kilowatt power. He learnt that a scientist in England was experi- menting on the same problem with a five-kilowatt X-ray tube, and grew depressed. When Raman, who was on his rounds, came to know of this, he said with a smile, "There is a very simple solution; use a 1 0-kilowatt brain on the problem."

Raman possessed supreme self- confidence and he generated -it in his students also. Raman used to enquire about his students even after they left his Institute. If they had any difficulty he would help them as best he could.

Raman had his own method of judging the merit of a student. Once he set a question concerning the vibrations of theMridangam at the Post-Graduate Examination of the Allahabad University. This was different from the other questions based on textbooks. Only one student answered it and he had spent all the allotted time on this one answer. Raman was pleased with his talent and personally congratulated him.

Swami Vivekananda: Part 10

2008-04-25T18:59:00.000+05:30

It was in Madras that the little lamp that appeared but in Bengalis Narendra became the blazing light of all India as Vivekananda. It was there that pressure mounted on him to go to America. The fame he won in Madras traveled to Hyderabad. Thousands gathered at the meeting addressed by him there. It was the first ever-public meeting addressed by Swamiji.

After he returned to Madras from Hyderabad, he started makingpreparations for his tour abroad. Contributions towards his travel expenses poured in from all parts of the country. But he kept with him only as much money as he needed for the journey. He returned the rest of the money to the donors.

On Foreign Soil

Swamiji reached the city of Chicago in the middle of July. On his way he touched at the ports of Colombo, Singapore, Hongkong and Tokyo. He chose a hotel for his stay. He made inquiry about the opening of the Conference of World Religions. It was still three months away. How was he to stay so long in s strange place? The money he had was fast disappearing. Meanwhile, an international fair was going on. Swamiji was wandering in the premises of the fair. Just then he spotted a Maharaja from India. He approached the Maharaja. But the Maharaja turned away with wry face.

Since Chicago was a big city and very expensive, Swamiji moved to the nearby city of Boston. On the way he met a lady. She was from Boston. She was amazed at Swamiji's strange attire, his magnificent physique, and his bright eyes. She decided that he was no ordinary man. She begged Swamiji to be her guest. He agreed. Occasionally he addressed meetings at small clubs. The subject of his talk was Indian Culture and the Hindu Dharma. Gradually many scholars became his friends. Once of them was John Henry Wright University. He was greatly impressed by Swamiji's scholarship. The delegates to the Conference of World Religions had to submit their letters of introduction to the organizers. But Swamiji had lost his letter of introduction. Wright himself wrote the letter of introduction, in which he called Swamiji "A scholar who surpasses all of us professor."

Swamiji went back to Chicago. When he reached the city he found that he had lost the addresses of some people. The people of the city were mostly Germans and could not understand English. As a consequence, Swamiji could not stir out. Finding no way out, Swamiji curled himself in an empty box, which was lying in the railway station. The next morning he wandered about in the streets. Unable to bear his hunger, he begged for alms at some houses. He could not get anything. On the contrary he was insulted and humiliated. He was sitting on the footsteps of a playground. A lady came out of a house facing the playground and asked him, "Are you a delegate to theconference of World Religions?" The Swamiji replied, 'Yes'. The lady said, "Please come to my house. You can bathe and have food. Then I shall take you to the Conference." Her name was Mrs.George Hails.

Dr. C.V. Raman: Part 8

2008-04-24T20:41:00.001+05:30

Investigations making use of the Raman Effect began in many countries. During the first twelve years after its discovery, about 1800 research papers were published on various aspects of it and about 2500 chemical compounds were studied.Raman Effect was highly praised as one of the greatest discoveries of the third decade of this century.

After the 'lasers' (devices that produce intense beams of light, their name coming from the initial letters of 'Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) came into use in the 1960's, it became easier to get monochromatic light of very high intensity for experiments. This brought back scientific interest in Raman Effect, and the interest remains alive to this day.

Raman received many honors from all over the world for his achievement. In 1928 the Science Society of Rome awarded the Matteucci Medal. In 1929 the British Government knighted him; thereafter Professor Raman came to be known as Professor Sir C..V. Raman. The Royal Society of London awarded the Hughes Medal in 1930.Honorary doctorate degrees were awarded by the Universities of Freiburg (Germany), Glasgow(England), Paris (France), Bombay, Benaras, Dacca, Patna, Mysore and several others.

The highest award a scientist or a writer can get is the Nobel Prize. In 1930, the Swedish Academy of Sciences chose Raman to receive the Nobel Prize for Physics. No Indian and no Asian had received the Nobel Prize for Physics up to that time. At the ceremony for the award, Raman used alcohol to demonstrate the Raman Effect. Later in the evening alcoholic drinks were served at the dinner. But Raman did not touch them. He remained loyal to the Indian traditions.

However minute the results of an experiment, they could not escape the searching eyes of Raman. And his mind retained every detail of what he observed. An incident, which took place at Walter, the seat of Andhra University, may be mentioned. After the discovery of the Raman Effect, spectra of different substances were being studied there. On one of his visits there, Raman found the research workers puzzled at not getting the expected spectral lines. Raman examined the plate containing the spectrum and exclaimed with joy, "There it is, you see!" He immediately got a projector and made the weak spectral lines clearly visible on the white screen.

Swami Vivekananda: Part 8

2008-04-24T20:41:00.000+05:30

As a sannyasi, one cannot be tied to a particular place. Even the Mutt is a kind of a prison. Attachment to a particular place is also wrong. It was the great good fortune of India that Narendra took to sannyasa and became ' Vivekanda'. Bharat became his home and its inhabitants his brothers. The sacred task of wiping the tears of his unfortunate brothers was dear to his heart. He had to travel all over the country. His assets were - a saffron robe, 'Kamandalu' (an ascetic's waterpot) and 'danda' (staff). On his way he visited many holy places. He lodged at huts and choultries and slept on the bare ground. He satisfied his hunger by begging for food. He was in the company of sadhus, spending the time in religious discussions and holy rituals.

He traveled on foot or by any vehicle whose driver was hospitable. Varanasi was the first city that Vivekanda visited. During his stay there, he met many scholars and exchanged ideas with them. In philosophical disputations he triumphed over them. In Ayodhya, his imagination pulsated with the memory of Sri Rama and Seta. In Agra the Taj filled him with wonder. On his way to Brindavean, he smoked a hukka borrowed from a passer-by that was a fisherman; he drank water in a pariah's house; begged for alms and accepted food from a cobbler. As he stepped into Brindavan (where Lord Krishna is believed to have lived) he was in ecstasy.

At Alwar, some Muslims became his disciples. While Swamiji used to eat in their houses, he became acquainted with Maharaja Mangal Singh. Initially the Prince had no faith in the Swami. There was a heated debate between the two. "Swamiji, I have no faith in idol worship," said the Maharaja. The Swamiji replied, "An idol is only a symbol. It is not something to sneer at. Every devotee has his own way of realizing God. It depends on the individual's devotion." The Prince was not satisfied with Swamiji's explanation. There was a portrait of the Maharaja on the wall. The Swamiji asked the Diwan (chief minister) by his side, "Whose picture is that?" "The Maharaja's," replied the Diwan. Vivekananda said, "Spit on it." The Diwan was taken aback. "Why are you unhappy?" asked the Swamiji. The Diwan thought this man was certainly mad. Swamiji explained: "After all, the photograph is just a shadow of your Maharaja. It is devoid of flesh and blood." "But then it reminds us of the Maharaja, does it not?" said the Diwan. Wisdom then dawned on the Maharaja. He apologized to the Swamiji. Later the Swamiji went to Mount Abu, passing through jaipur and Ajmer. He spent some time in tapas (prayer and meditation) in a cave.

Swami Vivekananda: Part 7

2008-04-23T16:59:00.001+05:30

One day he said to himself: "God gives whatever my Guru seeks. So it is best to seek my Guru's help." He went straight to his Guru and said, "On my behalf kindly pray before the Goddess to rid me of this poverty. She will give you whatever you wish for, won't she?" The Guru said, "My child, you have no faith in Her, why then will she listen to my prayer? You approach Her yourself. Then she will fulfil you need." So in the dead of night Narendra stood before the idol of Goddess Kali. He lost himself in deep meditation. He begged the Goddess, "O Mother, bestow on me the spirit of renunciation. Let me see you, that is all I beg of you." When he came out, the Guru asked, "Did you submit your prayer to Her? And what did She say?" Narendra said in dismay, "O! Forgot about it completely." "Then go back and ask Her," said the Guru. Again he forgot to speak about his poverty in his prayer to the Goddess. Again the Guru sent him. Back came Narendra and the same thing happened. The Guru's joy knew no bounds. "My child, you should not crave for only food and clothes. They are not the ultimate goals of man. Have faith in God. He will look after the welfare of your family," said the Guru.

Later Narendra took up the profession of teaching. For some time he taught in the Vidyasagar School. Now the family had at least enough food. While he worked as a teacher he continued his study of law. His Guru's health broke down. Sri Rama krishna developed a tumor in the throat. Narendra gave up both his hob and his studies and devoted all his time to nursing his Master.

Once, while Narendra was in meditation he shouted, "Where is my body?" Others had to touch his body and convince him of its existence. When Sri Ramakrishna heard this episode, he was happy that at last his desire to find a worthy disciple had been fulfilled.

The disciples nursed the Guru to the best of their ability. But the thought that the Guru would not recover from the illness agonized them. His end was drawing near. On the last day he called Narendra to his bedside and touched him. He invested Narendra with all his spiritual powers. He said, "Naren, now you are all-powerful. All these are my children. It is your duty to take care of them." These words filled Narendra's heart with grief. He went out of the room weeping like a child.

After the passing away of Sri Rama krishna, the young disciples went to live in a rented house in Baranagar. Although old, the house was far away from the noise and bustle of the city; and it was on the banks of the river Ganga. It was very close to the tomb of Sri Ramakrishna. So, the Mutt (monastery) was opened there. The young monks had two goals-salvation and the service of fellow men. Some young men left their homes and became monks and joined the Mutt. Narendra became a monk and headed the institution. The young sannyasis were unmindful of lack of food and clothing. But even when they fasted they did not neglect their studies and meditation. Narendra taught his brethren Sanskrit and Philosophy. To visitors he expounded the teachings of the Master.

Dr. C. V. Raman: Part 7

2008-04-23T16:59:00.000+05:30

Sometimes a rainbow appears and delights our eyes. We see in it shades of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. The white ray of the sun includes all these colors. When a beam of sunlight is passed through a glass prism a patch of these *color- bands are seen. This is called the spectrum. The Spectro- meter is an apparatus used to study the spectrum. Spectral lines in it are characteristic of the light passing through the prism. A beam of light that causes a single spectral line is said to be monochromatic.

When a beam of monochromatic light passes through a transparent substance (a

substance which allows light to pass through it), the beam is scattered. Raman spent a long time in the study of the scattered light.. On February 28, 1928, he observed two low intensity spectral line corresponding to the incident mono- chromatic light. Years of his labor had borne fruit. It was clear that though the incident light was monochromatic, the scattered light due to it, was not monochromatic.Thus Raman's experiments discovered a phenomenon which was lying hidden in nature.

The 16th of March 1928 is a memorable day in the history )f science. On that day a

meeting was held under the joint auspices of the South Indian Science Association and the Science Club of Central College, Bangalore; Raman was the Chief Guest. He announced the new phenomenon discovered by him to the world. He also acknowledged wit h affection the assistance given by K.S. Krishnan and Venkateshwaran, who were his students.

The phenomenon attracted the attention of research workers all over the world. It

became famous as the 'Raman Effect'. The spectral lines in the scattered light were known as 'Raman Lines'.

Is light wave-like or particle-like? This question has been discussed from time to time by scientists. The Raman Effect confirmed that light was made up of particles known as 'photons'. It helped in the study of the molecular and crystal structures of different substances.

Swami Vivekananda: Part 6

2008-04-22T09:01:00.001+05:30

One day Sri Ramakrishna took Narendra to a secluded place. He said, "I have attained some powers after a long period of meditation. They will give whatever a man wants. I have given up all desire, and so I have no use for these powers. Shall I bestow these powers on you?" "But will they help me to realize the Self?" - asked Narendra. "No," said Sri Ramakrishna. "Then I do not want them. More than anything, I want to realize God." Narendra's reply filled Ramakrishna with joy. The Master had tested Narendra, and Narendra had passed the test.

Gradually Narendra turned towards renunciation, giving up all worldly desires. The parents came to know of this. He was then studying for his BA degree examination. They planned to bring him back to worldly life through marriage. Sri Ramakrishna became unhappy on hearing this. HE advised Narendra that if bound by family ties, he would not be able to serve mankind. At times, Narendra would lose faith in Ramakrishna would first touch him with his hands. Then Narendra would lose contact with the world around. When he regained consciousness he would surrender to his Guru's teaching. Thus the Guru gradually gifted all his powers to the disciple.

In 1884, Narendra passed the BA degree examination. A friend of his hosted a party. As Narendra was singing at the party, the news of his father's death came like a bolt from the blue.

Poverty hit the family immediately after the father's death. The moneylenders began to harass the family. Some of them even went to a court of law. Narendra wandered far and wide looking for a job. His clothes were tattered and torn; and it was difficult even to get one meal a day. Many a day he fasted so that his mother and his brothers and sisters might have something to eat. HE would tell them that he had eaten with a friend. Sometimes he would faint with hunger and fall down in the street. But in spite of such overwhelming misfortune he never lost faith in God. Sri Ramakrishna would console him saying, "You are here to serve mankind and do mother Kali's work. You should be brave."

Dr. C. V. Raman: Part 6

2008-04-22T09:01:00.000+05:30

He went to Russia in 1925 to participate in the twohundredth anniversary of the 'Russian Academy of Sciences'.

Many scholars were working in the Calcutta laboratories to unlock the secrets of sound and light. To all of them Professor Raman was the 'Guru' and the leader. He had observed the blue color of the deep glaciers (mass of ice or snow) in the Alps mountain ranges. Taking the clue from this, some of the research workers studied some scattering of light in ice and quartz crystals. They also studied the scattering of light in liquids such as pure water and alcohol, as well as in vapors and gases.

With a complete mental picture of the phenomenon, Raman would proceed to experiment systematically. After that he would write the research paper based on the results of the experiments and arrange for its early publication. Sometimes it would be late in the day by the time the final copy was prepared. Then he would rush to the General Post Office in a taxi to catch the last mail. Then he would enjoy a feast of Rasagulla with his students.

He started 'The Indian Journal of Physics' in 1926 to make the prompt publication of research papers possible.

Raman wanted the young men working with him to take up indepenent positions and to serve the nation. He felt that his laboratory was a centre of training for young talent, but not a permanent storehouse.

Raman's research on sound became famous allover the world. 'Handbuck der Physic', a German Encyclopaedia of Physics, was published in 1927. Raman was the only foreign scientist invited to contribute an article to it.

Swami Vivekananda: Part 5

2008-04-17T22:05:00.001+05:30

A month passed. Narendra went alone to Dakshineswar. Ramakrishna was resting on a cot in his room. He was pleased to seen Narendra; him sits on his cot. He went into a trance and put his leg on Narendra's lap. Narendra forgot the outer world. He felt that he was dissolving. He shouted, "What's this you are doing to me? My parents are still alive. I should go back to them." Smilingly Sri Ramakrishna said, "Enough for today," and drew back his lap. Narendra became normal once again.

As days passed, each was attracted towards the other. Neither could bear to be parted from the other. It did not take a long time for Sri Ramakrishna to realize the greatness of Narendra. Moreover, he was guided by the will of Goddess Kali. But young Narendra would not accept Ramakrishna as his guru without a test. Ramakrishna used to say that, in order to realize God, one should give up the desire for money and women. One day Narendra hid a rupee under his pillow. Sri Rama krishna, who had gone out, came into the room and stretched himself on the cot. At once he jumped up as if bitten by a scorpion. When he shook the mattress, the rupee coin fell down. Later he came to know that it was the doing of Narendra.

Narendra was Ramakrishna's favorite disciple. But he would not accept as gospel truth all that Narendra said. Narendra was highly critical of people who worshipped idols. He rejected the theory of "Advaita" (monism). He had no faith in mystic experiences. Advaitic assertions such as "I am Brahman", "I am Shiva" did not impress Narendra.But Sri Ramakrishna would always bring him back to the right path by saying, "There are many roads to reach a destination. No one has the right to say that the path the other man takes is not the right one. It is improper to pass judgement on anything that one does not understand."

Dr. C. V. Raman: Part 5

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Raman's journey to England and back was by sea. In his leisure hours, he used to sit on the upper deck of the ship and enjoy the beauty of the vast sea. The deep blue color of the Mediterranean Sea interested the scientist in him. Was the blue due to the reflection of the blue sky? If so, how could it appear in the absence of light? Even when big waves rolled over the surface, the blue remained. As he thought over the problem, it flashed to him that the blue color might be caused by the scatter- ing of the sun's light by water molecules. He turned over this idea in his mind again and gains. Immediately after his return to Calcutta, he plunged into experiments. Within a month, he prepared a research paper and sent it to the Royal Society of London. Next year he published a lengthy article on the molecular scattering of light.

Raman never held the wrong belief that research could be carried out only with foreign-made or very complicated equipment. No doubt, he imported some equipment. No doubt, he imported some equipment. But he prepared much of the equipment he used with the help of his students.

Scientists of many countries appreciated the research papers of Raman and his colleagues. The Royal Society, the oldest and the most important science society of England, honored Raman in 1924 by electing his as its 'Fellow' (that is, a member).

The annual session of 'The British Association for the Cultivation of Science' was held in the same year in Toronto (Canada). Raman inaugurated the seminar on the scattering of light. R.A. Millikan, the famous American Physicist, who also attended, was full of admiration for Raman. They became fast friends too.

At the Mount Wilson Observatory in California (U.S.A), a telescope of 100-inch width was in use. Those were the times when discoveries in the field of astronomy (study of stars and planets and their movements) filled people with wonder. Raman was always eager to learn new things. He spent a couple of days onMount Wilson. During the nights he viewed the Nebula (bright or dark patch in the sky caused by distant stars or a cloud of gas or dust.) Through the telescope and was thrilled.

Swami Vivekananda: Part 5

2008-04-17T22:01:00.001+05:30

Dr. C. V. Raman: Part 5

2008-04-17T22:01:00.000+05:30

Swami Vivekananda: Part 4

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By 1880, Narendra passed his Matriculation and Entrance Examination. He joined a college. Day by day, his thirst for knowledge increased. He would borrow from the library books not related to the prescribed courses and read them, and so satisfy his thirst. HE was particularly fascinated by the secrets of God's creation. Apart from history and science, he was well read in Western philosophy. As he advanced in his studies, his thinking faculty developed.Doubts anduncertainties overtook him. He gave up blind beliefs but could not realize the Truth.

He placed his doubts before eminent scholars and sought their guidance. These scholars excelled in debate. But their logic did not convince Narendra. Their line of thinking was stale. It did not convince him, for none of them had direct experience of God.

Sri Ramakrishna was a priest in the temple of Goddess Kali. He was not a scholar. But he was a great devotee. It was being said of him that he had realized God. Scholars who went to him became his disciples. Once, Narendra went with his friends to Dakshineswar to see him. Sri Ramakrishna sat surrounded by his disciples; he was immersed in discussions about God. Narendra sat in a corner with his friends. All at once Sri Ramakrishna's mind was in turmoil. He was thrilled. Indistinct thoughts upset his mind. Memories of an earlier meeting seemed to stir in him. For some time he sat still as if in a trance. Narendra's attractive figure and shining eyes filled him with wonder. "Can you sing?" he asked Narendra. Narendra sang a couple of Bengali songs in a melodious voice. As he listened to the music, the Bhagavan went into a trance. After some time he took Narendra into a room. He patted Narendra on the back and said, "My child, why are you so late? I have grown weary, waiting for all these days. I wanted to share my experiences with the right person. You are not an ordinary man. You are Lord Vishnu in human form. Do you know how much I have been craving for you?" And he broke down.

Sri Ramakrishna's behavior puzzled Narendra. He thought the elderly man was mad. "Will you come again? Promise me you will", pleaded Ramakrishna. Eager to escape from him, Narendra said, "Yes".

After the Bhagavan finished his discourse Narendra asked him,"Have you seen God?" "Of course I have. I have seen him just as I'm looking at you. I have even talked to him. I can show him to you. But who is yearning to see God?" replied Ramakrishna. Narendra said to himself, "Till today no one had told me he had seen God. This m an looks mentally deranged; possibly he is even mad. However, it is not proper to judge without investigating."

Dr. C. V. Raman: Part 4

2008-04-16T19:07:00.001+05:30

That was a time when Raman was completely immersed in experiments and research. According to the terms of the Palit Chair, he could have remained free from teaching work, doing research only. But Raman had great pleasure in teaching. Students were inspired by his lectures. They were eager to listen to him. He would not stick to one particular textbook. His lectures brought the fragrance of fresh research. They reflected Raman's great curiosity about the secrets of nature. Usually the lecture was of an hour's duration. Forgetting the time in the discussion of the subject, Professor Raman would sometimes lecture for two or three hours. Any doubt or question from a student would stimulate new scientific ideas.

Absorbed in experiments, it was not unusual for him to forget food and sleep. Sometimes working late at night, he would sleep in the laboratory on one of the tables.

In the mornings too, most of his time was spent in the laboratory. He worked in informal clothes. At 9.30 a.m. he would rush home. After a shave and a bath he would dress up and send for a taxi. He

Would finish his breakfast in two or three minutes and get into the taxi. Racing over a distance of four miles, he would reach the class on time. He never wasted time.

The Congress of the Universities of the British Empire met in 1921 in London. Raman went to England as the represen- tative of Calcutta University. This was his first visit abroad.

Raman lectured in the 'Physical Society' of London. People came in large numbers to

listen to him. He was introduced to J.J. Thomson and Ernest Rutherford, the famous English Physicists. Raman visited St. Paul's Church in London. A whisper at one point of the church tower is heard clearly at another point. This effect, produced by the reflection of sound, aroused his curiosity.

Sai Baba of Shirdi

2008-04-15T20:36:00.000+05:30

Long time ago, at the beginning of eighteenth century a young bearded man with sparkling eyes took shelter in a mosque, in Shirdi Village (of Maharshtra State, In India) . Nobody knew from where this stranger had come who hardly spoke a word and stayed there.

Gradually the curious villagers started offering food to the man, but he never asked anything from them.. Sometimes he shared his food with the animals. Soon the young fakir, as he was started to be addressed, started expressing his view points with few elderly villagers. His simple language of expresssion and his special power of solving the problems of poor needy and destitutes soon made this less known fakir, known as Shri Sai Baba. As the days passed, devotees started streaming into Shirdi in ever growing numbers. The village was fast becoming a centre of pilgrimage. As gifts and presentations flowed in, the pomp and ceremony of Sai worship were evolving. Everyday Sai Baba would be a pauper having distributed all among the needy and the poor. But Sai Baba's life of a Fakir remained calm, undisturbed, unaltered and therein is the saint's Spiritual glory.

Sai baba strongly believed in uniformity of religion and he never distinguished anyone on the basis of caste, creed or religion. He always made it a point not to return empty handed those who had come to him in their hour of need and grief. He performed miracles to alleviate the suffering of poor people. On one occasion he restored the eyes of a blind elderly and in another occasion he lighted a lantern with water when there was no oil to burn it.

As all good things have to end ultimately "Baba" also left his body on his own will on 15th Oct. 1918, leaving his millions of believers and followers crying. His body was laid in the Samadhi Mandir called "Booty", which he had asked his disciple to built before his death.

Sai Baba was Unique, in that, he lived his message through the Essence of his Being. His life and relationship with the common man was his teaching. The lmmense Energy that was manifest in the body of Sai was moving and is still moving in a mysterious way, creating and recreating itself everywhere, beyond the comprehension of time and space.Yet, he lived with the common folk as a penniless fakir, wearing a torn kafni, sleeping over a mat while resting his head on a brick, begging for his food. He radiated a mysterious smile and a deep inward look, of a peace that passeth all understanding. He was always and ever aware of what transpired within the hearts and minds of everyone, whether they be, His devotees or not. This Omnipresent and Omniscient Sri Sai Baba who left his mortal body in 1918, is the living spiritual force that is drawing people from all walks of life, from all parts of the world, into his fold, today.Sri Sai Baba lived, acted and behaved as only a "God descended on Earth" can. He came to serve mankind, to free them from the clutches of fear.

His most concise message for one and all alike was "Why fear when I am here". To take refuge in Sai, is to enter into ajourney to reach the Divine Oasis of Love and drink deep from the Fountain of Life, the source of all Spiritual Energy.Wherever the devotee is, Baba makes him recognize within himself his highest aspirations and goal and at one stroke, his conduct and the attitude to fellow beings is touched with the awareness of love, understanding, patience and faith. This is the promise that Sri Sai Baba holds out to all who come to Him. Sri Sai Baba was beyond the limitations of Time and Space and thus caste, creed, position dogmas and doctrines were fundamentally unimportant to him. Nobody really knew his parentage, where he came from or which religion he practised. He claimed no possessions nor accepted any disciples or gave any specific teaching.

This anonymity lent a strange facet to his interaction with the people who came to him for guidance. To the Hindus he was an orthodox Brahmin, with a sacred fire, enjoining the worship of many gods and the devout study of various Hindu scriptures. He lived in a mosque but always referred to it as "Dwarkamay!" (Lord Krishna's birth place is Dwaraka). To the Moslems he was a fakir living in a mosque observing the disciplines of Islam, uttering "Allah Malik" (God is the master) guiding Muslim seekers along the lines c)f their own religion. To the Parsis he was the sacred rire worshipper. His life was a living manifestation c)f the Sermon of the Christ and of the Eight-fold path of the Buddha.

Sai Baba's attraction and appeal lie in this fact that he was a perfect model of the harmony of all religions, for whom this world - with all its sectarian and religious antagonism, had been waiting. Sai Baba lived to awaken and lead mankind to the varities of spiritual life. He set in motion a wave of spirituality, which is now spreading all over the globe. All his life's activities constituted the upliftment of mankind. By first conferring temporal benefits, he drew unto himself countless souls caught up in ignorance (darkness) and opened their eyes to the true meaning of life. The miracles which manifested through Sai Baba were just such as were needed to create faith in the people and to make his devotees ethically and spiritually better evolved. Baba did not purposefully perform miracles to show his powers. The very strength of his perfect realisation, in its interaction with nature, caused "the miracle" to take place. Thus he drew people from their deluded pursuits after earthly objects of a transitory nature and induced and inspired them to strive for self-realisation. He continued this glorious work until the last moment of his human embodiment in Shirdi.

Amazingly, there are a phenomenally large number of Instances in which Sai Baba has been literally physically appearing before his devotees, even decades after his passing out of the physical body.Sai Baba is constantly and simultaneously proving that he Is alive in spirit and responds to our sincere prayers. He Is the One Spirit of all existence. which is God in all the forms of God, in all the saints, in all the men and in all the creatures.All those who sincerely take to a life of inner development, Sai Baba lifts him to a higher level. Every one derives benefit according to the ripeness o f his soul and in accordance with his inner yearning.Baba assured his devotees by his saying "I am at Shirdi and everywhere. Whatever you do, wherever you may be, ever bear this in mind, that I am always aware of everything". Sai Baba does not belong to any single tradition but to all mankind on the path of goodness, love and understanding.

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The relevance of Sai Baba today

The divine role of Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi in the present embodiment covered a period of about 64 years between 1854, when He made his first appearance in Shirdi, and 1918 when he left His body. However, his sixty years of stay at Shirdi on his second appearance between 1858 and 1918 manifested the depth and expansiveness of his unique role.India was in a cross - road of cultural and religious mix. The Mughal empire was vanishing and the British empire was establishing itself. Western culture and Christianity were slowly entering into the mainstream of Indian life. Religious and cultural intolerance were raising their ugly heads in the Post Sepoy-Mutiny Scenario of India. It could not have been possible for any leader or statesman to bring about harrnony among the divergent religious, cultural groups in such a situation. It was only a God in human form who could dare and accomplish the task of bringing unity between the different religious and social groups.Shri Sai baba had large number of Hindu, Parsee and Muslim devotees. Christians and Sikhs also used to visit Him.

All were treated by him alike. Under his umbrella, both the Hindus and Muslims happily took part in each others religious festivals. The caste scheme of the Hindus had no relevance with Shri Sai. He had introduced the tradition of group worship, group prayer and group dinning for all and would share his 'Chilum' (Tobacco pipe) with all. He even showed highest compassion for animals and birds and encouraged his devotees to feed and take care of them. He recognised no difference in temporal status of human beings. He refused to accept food brought in silver and gold utensils from a queen but relished a single ROTI (hand-made bread) of a beggar woman and showered all His blessings.

- He practiced and preached humanism and universal brotherhood - prophet like.

- He established the superiority of love and compassion above egoism - Christ-like.

- He taught simplicity of livelihood and excellence of human virtue reflected in day to day conduct, Buddha-like.

Today, the world is looking ahead for a magical solution to its problems of cultural, racial, national and religious differentiation. All intellectual exercises to bring about peace in -the world and happiness to mankind has failed for these efforts are not based on humanism, universalism and love as taught by Shri Sai. The ever multiplying number of Sai temples and devotees of Shri Shirdi Sai Baba in India and other countries establishes the ever- increasing relevance of His Preachings today. Jesus as an human embodiment is gone but the spirit of Jesus remains. The body of Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi cannot be seen but the magnetic pull of His Divine Soul is felt by all those who merely think of Him and particularly, those who visit His tomb at Shirdi. Baba had promised that whosoever would put his feet pn the soil of Shirdi, his miseries would end or marginalise.

All devotees of Baba find His promise come true, even eighty years after He left the mortal body. Baba used to call His devotees as children, and like the true father, kept busy day-in and day-out for their temporal as well as spiritual upliftment. In todays world the children of God, torn asunder by religious, social and sectarian strife, should run to the father to experience that love which can only unite them.Human beings may conquer all the planets and stars before they learn the magic formula to conquer the hearts of their fellow beings. The formula has been given by the Master. It is for us to follow to make the world a better place to live.

Shri Saibaba is among the most influential spiritual gurus of India, who lived at a nondescript village of Shirdi in the state of Maharashtra. With his miraculous powers and captivating teachings he rules the heart of millions of his devotees, whose number is ever growing with each passing day.

He is also among the most recognizable gurus whose image can be found throughout India, sometimes simply as a fashion statement or kept along as accessories. Worn as pendants and kept in lockets Saibaba makes his presence in all corners of India. He lived in the cusp of two centuries i.e., between 1838 and 1918. During this time Shri Saibaba made a great impact on the psyche of the people coming under his influence. With his simple and trite philosophy combined with his clairvoyant prowess, Saibaba's legacy is still on among his ever growing number of followers.

Today, many religious teachers, groups and organizations promote his teachings and devotion to Sai. Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust is the most prominent promoter of Saibaba's legacy all across the world. The trust also takes care of the shrines and temples in Shirdi. All-India Sai Samaj, founded by B.V. Narasimha Swamiji, publishes books on Sai Baba as well as administrates the temples of Sai Baba built all over India.

There are a great number of followers of Sai Baba, who have achieved fame as spiritual figures. Among the most popular of such gurus are Upasni Maharaj of Sakori and Meher Baba of Ahmednagar. There have been at least three gurus and two youngsters, who have claimed to be the reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba. Among them the most famous is Sathya Sai Baba who lives at Puttaparthi Andhra Pradesh, India. Sathya Sai Baba has immense popularity across the world with devotees thronging from all across the world.

Sri Sai Baba of Shirdi's legacy is also lived through the multitude of literature that has been written on him. Sai literature has the widest possible dimension covering almost every aspect of Saibaba. Scholars across the world have studied the life and philosophy of Saibaba and tried to understand and decipher the quintessential Sai Baba of Shirdi.

Sai temples that are built all over the world are also carrying the legacy of Shri Saibaba of Shirdi. With over 2,000 major Sai temples in different parts of India and 150 abroad, the conviction and faith on Sai Baba are lived and professed enriching the lifestyle of his devotees and mankind at large.

Sai Baba of Shirdi is the epitome of reverence a guiding force who generates supreme faith and confidence among his devotees looking for salvation and in quest of coming out of the drudgery of living. As a divine mother he is saturated with love for those who seek him. With his mission of making people about the divine consciousness and transcending the limits of mortal body, his teachings are guiding his devotees to the path of salvation. People are blessed who follow his teachings.

Among the teachings of Sai Baba of Shirdi there are the cardinal principles of Sai Path called 'Shraddha' and 'Saburi'. Sai Baba looks for these two qualities in his devotees. Here are the teachings and philosophies of Sai Baba of Shirdi.

Shraddha

'Shraddha' is a Sanskrit word, which roughly means faith with love and reverence. Such faith or trust is generated out of conviction, which may not be the result of any rational belief or intellectual wisdom, but a spiritual inspiration. According to Sai Baba of Shirdi, steadfast love in God is the gateway to eternity. Baba's teaching, both direct and indirect explicate the significance of 'Shraddha'. Baba reiterates the spiritual guidance of Shri Krishna to Arjun - "Whosoever offer to Me with love or devotion, a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, that offering of pure love is readily accepted by Me".

Saburi

'Saburi'; means patience and perseverance. Saburi is a quality needed throughout the path to reach the goal. This quality must be ingrained in a seeker from day one, least he looses his stride and leaves the path half way

Purity

For Sai Baba it was not the purity of the body but inner purity that mattered. No amount of physical and external cleansing would serve any purpose if the man remained impure in mind and heart. Therefore, Baba cautioned His devotees not to make austerity as an end itself, lest they should indulge in physical mortification.

Compassion

Himself an epitome of compassion and love, Sai Baba taught compassion among his disciples. Baba often told His devotees, 'Never turn away anybody from your door, be it a human being or animal'.

Complete Surrender to the Guru

Sai Baba put Guru on a high pedestal of reverence. For Him Guru was the profound base of the path of devotion. Pointing to his physical frame, "This body is my house. I am not here. My Guru (Master) has taken me away". He asked for complete surrender to the 'Guru'.

Sai Baba's Teachings through 'Udi' and 'Dakshina'

Udi

Udi or the sacred ash was produced from the perpetual fire called 'dhuni' lit by Sai Baba in Dwarkamai at Shirdi. Explaining the meaning of life He would refer to Udi and taught that like Udi all the visible phenomena in the world are transient. Through this example Sai Baba wished to make his devotees understand the sense of discrimination between the unreal and the real. Udi taught the devotees discrimination or vivek.

Dr. C. V. Raman: Part 3

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At that time Burma and India were under a single government. In 1909, Raman was

transferred to. Rangoon, the capital of Burma. When Chandrasekhara Ayyar passed away in 1910, Raman came to Madras on six months' leave.

After completing the last rites, Raman spent the rest of his leave period doing research in the Madras University laboratories.

The Science College of Calcutta University was started in 1915.

There a chair for Physics was established in memory of Taraknath Palit, a generous

man. Raman was appointed Professor. He sacrificed the powerful post in the government, which brought a good salary.

The Indian Science Congress was started in 1913. Its aim was to bring together scientists engaged in research; theyshould meet and exchange ideas. Its first session was held in 1914. Asuthosh Mukherjee was the President. Raman was the President of the Physics section. Later he worked for many years as the Secretary of the Science Congress. He presided over its annual sessions in 1929 and 1948.

In 1917, at the age of 29, Raman became the Palit Professor. He continued research along with the new assignment.

Raman was very deeply interested in musical instruments such as the Veena, the Violin,the Mridangam and the Tabala. He began to work on them. Around 1918 he explained the complex vibrations of the strings of musical instruments. He later found out the characteristic tones emitted by the Mridangam, the Tabala etc.

Amritlal Sircar, who was devoting all his time to the welfare of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, passed away in 1919. Professor Raman became its Honarary Secretary. Two laboratories - those of the College and of the Association - were under him; and this gave a new stimulus to his researches. Both his body and his mind could do all the work that had to be done. Many students came to him from different parts of the country for post-graduate studies and research. 210, Bow Bazaar Street and the University Science College Laboratory - these became the active research centers of India. Research workers like Meghnad Saha and S.K. Mitra, who became famous later, worked at these centres.

Swami Vivekananda: Part 3

2008-04-14T20:21:00.000+05:30

Narendra's father was a lawyer. So every day his house used to be crowded with his clients belonging to different castes. The house was like an inn; the clients had breakfast and lunch there. It was the custom to provide the guests with hukkas (long pipes) o smoke after food. There was a different pipe for clients of each caste. Narendra wondered what would happen if he smoked the pipe mean for people of a different caste. Finally he experimented nothing untoward happened. He concluded that caste had no meaning.

The maxim "The child is father of the man" was entirely true of the compassionate boy, Narendra. Once there was a display of physical exercises in a localgymnasium. Accidentally an iron bar fell on a sailor among the spectators. He fell down unconscious. The people who had gathered there ran away lest the police should question them. Narendra, with the help of two friends of his, gave the wounded sailor first aid. Then he took him to a doctor. He even raised some money for the wounded man. On another occasion Narendra pulled out one of his friends who had been caught under the wheel of a coach drawn by horses. Likewise he helped a little boy who was a total stranger. The boy was lying on a road with high fever. He took him home. Narendra never knew what fear was.

It was not that Narendra excelled only in sports; he was quick and alert in his studies as well. After a single reading he could remember any lesson. His memory was amazing. Concentration was the key to his success in studies.

Whenever Vishwanath Datta found time he would give his son advice. "You need fear no one so long as you keep to the path of truth and Dharma (Virtue). One should not be browbeaten. One should guard one's self-respect. Love of one's religion should not mean hatred of others religions. Patriotism is essential for man's welfare. Foreign enemies may invade a country, but they cannot take away people's ancient and potent culture." He loved to listen to his son's sweet voice. Narendra's face would become radiant when he sang devotional songs.

His mother was dear to Narendra as his own life, and to him she was a veritable goddess. In his eyes, there was no one as ready to make sacrifices as the mother. She must have the highest place not only in the home but also in society. He had great respect for his father too. But this did not come in the way of his freedom and independent thinking. He gave expression to what he felt even about his father. "Hospitality is certainly a great virtue. But is it right to feed the lazy? Is it right to provide them with cigarette and pipe to smoke?" This he would often question his father. But his father would say, "You do not understand their misery, my boy. When they much tobacco, they at least for a while forget the bitterness of their life."

Swami Vivekananda: Part 2

2008-04-13T20:01:00.001+05:30

He came to be known as Swami Vivekanda only when he became a sannyasi or monk. His parents called him Narendra. His father was Vishwantha Datta and his mother Bhuvaneshwari Devi. Narendra was born on 12th January 1863 in Calcutta. As a child he was very lively and naughty.

When Narendra stepped into boyhood, his naughtiness grew. He was a natural leader of the children in the neighborhood. His companions bowed to his decision always. Once a landlord threatened the children saying, "There is a demon in the tree and he swallows children." Narendra was not impressed by this threat. He settled down on a branch. The other boys took to their heels. Narendra waited for several hours, but the demon did not appear. So, he declared that the landlord's story was a spoof. Narendra loved to tease his sisters. Meditation, too, was a sport to him. But as he meditated he became oblivious of the whole world. Not even a lizard or a snake moving near him could disturb his concentration.

Even as a child Narendra had great respect for sannyasis or ascetics. He would give away anything to anybody if asked for. On his birthday, he would wear new clothes, wouldn't he? If a beggar asked for alms he would give away the new clothes. From that day, his mother would lock him up in a room whenever a beggar passed by the house. But every beggar knew Narendra's nature very well. So beggars would stand near the window of Narendra's room. He would throw to them anything he had. The spirit of sacrifice and renunciation was already blossoming in him.

In her leisure time his mother would tell him the story of the Ramayana. He could not sleep unless she told him a story. Then he would be all ears, forgetting his study and play. He had great reverence for Lord Hanuman. Once he sat before the idol of Lord Shiva, with his body all smeared with ash. His perplexed mother asked him, "Naren, what's all this?" He smiled and said, "Mother, I'm Lord Shiva." The mother feared that her son would become a sannyasi, like his grandfather.

Dr. C. V. Raman: Part 2

2008-04-13T20:01:00.000+05:30

The works of the German scientist Helmhotlz (1821 - 1891) and the English scientist Lord Raleigh (1842 - 1919) on acoustics (the study of sound) influenced Raman. He took immense interest in the study of sound. When he was eighteen years of age, one of his research papers was -published in the 'Philosophical Magazine' of England. Later another paper was published in the scientific journal 'Nature'.

Raman's elder brother C.S. Ayyar was in the 'Indian Audit and Accounts Service' (I.A.A.S.). Raman also wanted to enter the same department. So he sat for the competitive examination. The day before this examination, the results of the M.A. examination were published. He had passed in first class recording the highest marks in Madras University up to that time. He stood first in the I.A.A.S. examination also.

On May 6, 1907, Raman married Lokasundari Ammal. At the age of nineteen, Raman held a high post in the government. He was appointed as the Assistant Accountant General in the Finance Department in Calcutta. And the same year something happened to give a new turn to his life.

One evening Raman was returning from his office in a tramcar. He saw the name plate of the 'Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science' at 210, Bow Bazaar Street. Immediately he got off the tram and went in. Dr. Amritlal Sircar was the Honarary Secretary of the Association. There were spacious rooms and old scientific instruments, which could be used for demonstration of experiments.

Raman asked whether he could conduct research there in his spare time. Sircar gladly agreed. Raman took up a house adjoining the Association. A door was provided between his house and the laboratory. During the daytime he would attend his office and carry out his duties. His mornings and nights were devoted to research. This gave him full satisfaction. So he continued his ceaseless activities in Calcutta.

Dr. C. V. Raman: Part 1

2008-04-10T20:27:00.003+05:30

The genius who won the Nobel Prize for Physics, with simple equipment barely worth RS. 300. He was the first Asian scientist to win the Nobel Prize. He was a man of boundless curiosity and a lively sense of humor. His spirit of inquiry and devotion to science laid the foundations for scientific research in India. And he won honor as a scientist and affection as a teacher and a man.

One day in 1903, Professor Eliot of Presidency College, Madras, saw a little boy in his B.A. Class. Thinking that he might have strayed into the room, the Professor asked, "Are you a student of the B.A. class?"

"Yes Sir," the boy answered.

"Your name?"

"C.V. Raman."

This little incident made the fourteen- year- old boy well known in the college. The

youngster was later to become a world famous scientist.

Tiruchirapalli is a town on the banks of the river Cauvery. Chandrasekhara Ayyar was a teacher in a school there. He was a scholar in Physics and Mathematics. He loved music. His wife was Parvathi Ammal. Their second son was born on 7th November 1888. They named the boy Venkata Raman. He was also called Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman or

C.V. Raman.

Raman grew up in an atmosphere of music, Sanskrit literature and Science. He stood first in every class and was. Talked about as a child genius. He joined the B.A. class of the Presidency College. In the year 1905, he was the only boy who passed in the first class. He won a gold medal, too.

He joined the M.A. class in the same college and chose Physics (study of matter and energy) as the main subject of study. Love of science, enthusiasm for work and the curiosity to learn new things were natural to Raman. Nature had also given him the power of concentration and intelligence. He used to read more than what was taught in the class. When doubts arose he would set down questions like 'How?' 'Why?' and 'Is this true?' in the Margin in the textbooks.

Swami Vivekananda: Part 1

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The valiant monk who proclaimed in America the greatness of Hinduism and of Indian culture at a time when the West regarded India as a land of barbarians. The beloved disciple of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.He was the living embodiment of sacrifice and dedicated his life to the country and yearned for the progress of the poor, the helpless and the downtrodden. He was the great thinker and mighty man of action whose ringing words galvanized the slumbering Indians. For ages to come he will be a source of inspiration.

"Brothers and sisters, the long night is at last drawing to a close. Miseries and sorrows are disappearing. Ours is a sacred country. She is gradually waking up, thanks to the fresh breeze all around. Her might no one can overcome."

"Are you prepared for all sacrifices for the sake of our motherland? If you are, then you can rid the land of poverty and ignorance. Do you know that millions of our countrymen are starving and miserable? Do you feel for them? Do you so much as shed a tear for them?"

"Have you the courage to face any hurdles, however formidable? Have you the determination to pursue your goal, even if those near and dear to you oppose you? You can be free men only if you have confidence in yourselves. You should develop a strong physique. You should shape your mind through study and mediation. Only then will victory be yours."

"I loved my motherland dearly before I went to America and England. After my return, every particle of the dust of this land seems sacred to me."

Do you know who carried this message to every nook and corner in the whole continent of Asia? It was Swami Vivekanda.

Napoleon Hill

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Oliver Napoleon Hill was born to a poor family in 1883. He fought his way out of his backwoods Virginia town with a burning desire to be successful. He was always searching for ways to improve himself and was involved in numerous ventures, including managing a coal-mine, practicing law, and becoming a business journalist. His big break came when he had the opportunity of meeting Andrew Carnegie, the "Steel King". Andrew Carnegie asked Napoleon Hill if he would take up the challenge of devoting 20 years of his life in order to prepare a formula of success for helping others to become successful. Andrew Carnegie would provide him with letters of reference to meet hundreds of successful people in the likes of Woodrow Wilson, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Theodore Roosevelt, John D. Rockefeller, to name a few. Napoleon Hill made his decision to take up the challenge in less than 60 seconds. Later he came to know that Andrew Carnegie had given him 60 seconds to make up his mind, failing which he would have lost his chance of undertaking the important assignment. After 20 years of dedicated research in 1937 he came out with his best seller, "Think And Grow Rich", which has helped countless of people around the world to achieve success. One of his famous saying was, "Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve".

SUCCESS PRINCIPLES

Successful people make up their mind fast, but are slow at changing their mind once they make their decision. On the other hand those who are not too successful tend to be slow at making up their mind and quick to change after the decision is made. In actual fact most people do not make their own decisions at all, because their decisions are made for them or influenced by others. It is also true that whatever your mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve. The key word here is "believe".

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE

"When you can do the common things of life in an uncommon way you will command the attention of the world."

This story is about the greatest personal development guru of all time - Napoleon Hill.

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