Thursday, June 7, 2012

How the Jaffna Youth Congress Pioneered the Struggle for Total Independence from the UK..!!!

How the Jaffna Youth Congress Pioneered the Struggle for Total Independence from the UK 2 June 2012, 7:58 pm Handy Perinbanayagam By Tissa Jayatilaka A revised edition of Handy Perinbanayagam A Memorial Volume & The Jaffna Youth Congress edited by Santasilan Kadirgamar, published by Kumaran Publishers, Colombo, was released under the auspices of the Indo-Lanka Foundation on March the 4, 2012 at the Saraswathy Hall in Colombo. The first edition of the above publication, also edited by Santasilan Kadirgamar, was produced and distributed by the Handy Perinbanayagam Commemoration Society in Jaffna on 28 June, 1980. A noteworthy feature of the present revised edition is its availability in all of the three national languages – - Sinhala, Tamil and English. It was the editor’s determination to make the ideals and vision of the late Handy Perinbanayagam, the founder of the Jaffna Youth Congress (JYC), accessible to all Sri Lankans that made him bring out the volume in all three languages. He endured the delay thus involved in bringing out the revised edition because of his motivation to release all three versions of the book simultaneously. It is both fitting and proper he should have done so. For Handy Perinbanayagam the Ceylonese nationalist (not, please note, a narrow ethnic nationalist) would not have wanted it any other way. The publication is most timely given that we are at a moment in our history when the need for a principled search for genuine national reconciliation is extremely urgent. To this end, the legacy of Handy Perinbanayagam and the Jaffna Youth Congress should serve as a stimulus and congenial guide. Absent such a reconciliation, our future as a united country is in far graver danger than most of us seem to realize. Handy Perinbanayagam (1899 – 1977) pioneered the movement in Ceylon for total national independence (‘Purna Swaraj’). Inspired by and imbued with the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi, he was an educationist of the highest calibre. He fought for the right of a child to be educated in her own native language and for a people’s right to be governed in their own. The book before us today is a well deserved tribute to Handy Perinbanayagam’s long and distinguished service to the people of Sri Lanka and to our world in general. His was the voice of liberal humanism. Handy Perinbanayagam was a remarkable Sri Lankan and citizen of the world. Among all that he has said and written, what I cherish are the two following: Here’s the first: What Sinhala is to the Sinhalese, Tamil ought to be for the Tamils. A minority need not be subordinate to the majority in a free country. The other expressed by Handy Perinbanayagam in 1947 goes like this: In spite of the reverses which the ideal of one Ceylon, Free Ceylon, has received recently we hold our faith in it. The conception of a free country where politics is free from the ideas of race and caste calls for courage and imagination and true statesmanship. We shall not subscribe to anything less than that, for nothing less will save Ceylon. How very prophetic! Inspired as he was by Gandhian ideals, Handy Perinbanayagam never wavered from his ideal of a united and independent Sri Lanka. He believed utterly and steadfastly in the dignity and equality of all human beings and hence rejected any form of social exclusivity. Handy Perinbanayagam was also, when the occasion demanded it, unconventional and unorthodox in his thinking. At times, we thus find him in disagreement with the orthodoxy of the Christian Church. He subscribed to the view that the principles of Christianity and Saiva Siddanta were virtually inseparable. As a non-conformist , as one who likes to question dogmas and orthodoxies, and as one who prefers inclusivity to exclusivity, I have found myself naturally drawn to the independence of spirit and thought that marked the life and work of Handy Perinbanayagam. The educated Sri Lankans of the period around 1920 to mid- 1950s – - give or take a little – - much like Handy Perinbanayagam and others of the JYC, were part of the bilingual intelligentsia of our country. They were not frogs in the well as most of their counterparts appear to be today. Our predecessors, for the most part, were aware of our indigenous traditions and values just as much as they were familiar with traditions and values that are universally valid. They were at home in their indigenous languages as they were with English. We then had the ability and self- confidence to let other cultural winds blow across the length and breadth of our island home and absorb from those winds what was useful and leave out what was of no use. We thus achieved a synthesis of human values which stood us in good stead. It is a pity that we do not manifest that ability and that national self-confidence today. The ideals of the Gandhian movement, the idealism of the American missionaries who propagated western Christian liberal values (happily minus the vested interests the generality of their imperialist British counterparts manifested), and the impact of the Hindu nationalists who established Hindu schools in the north combined to shape the broad and humane worldview of the JYC. One of the defining features of the American missionary education enterprise in northern Sri Lanka was its emphasis on the study of both Tamil and English. It is the fine combination of this indigenous and non – indigenous tradition of learning that ensured that men like Handy Perinbanayagam and his JYC colleagues were not culturally divorced from their roots. They were thus rooted in the particular as at the same time they reached out to the universal. The Jaffna Students’ Congress, the precursor of the Jaffna Youth Congress, came into being in the 1920s – - 1924 to be precise. Hector Abhayavardhana in his perceptive essay titled Tamil Nationalism and the Sinhalese (see his Selected Writings, Colombo: 2001, pp.350 – 368) suggests that the break up of the Ceylon National Congress with the departure of its influential Tamil members around 1924 may have had something to do with the formation of the Jaffna Students’ Congress in that year which later metamorphosed into the Jaffna Youth Congress. Here’s how Abhayavardhana puts it: Though Arunachalam and his followers had no visible connection with the formation of the Students (sic) Congress (later the Youth Congress) in Jaffna, it is possible to conjecture that the breakup of the Ceylon National Congress and the formation of the Students Congress in Jaffna were not completely unrelated. Abahayavardhana goes on to make a key point about the Jaffna Students’ Congress in that it was a national and not a mere regional movement confined to the peninsular of Jaffna or the Northern and Eastern provinces. Its perspective, notes Abhayavardhana, ‘was an all-island one and its goal was explicitly announced to be independence, national unity, secularism, and the overcoming of all caste barriers. It contributed the first manifestation of genuine nationalism in the country’. We thus see that notable Sinhala Sri Lankans such as D.B. Dhanapala, P.de S. Kularatne, G.K.W. Perera, once a Principal of Nalanda Vidyalaya and later a State Councillor, A.E. Goonesinha the labour leader, the father of Marxism in Ceylon Philip Gunawardene (even though based in London at the time), D.S. Senanyake, George. E. de Silva, E.W. Perera, D. B. Jayatilaka, Francis de Zoysa, S. W. Dassanaike, S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, N. M. Perera, Leslie Gunewardene, S. A. Wickremasinghe, W. Dahanayake , J. R. Jayewardene, Colvin R. de Silva and Selina Perera joined forces with the JHC. So also did up country Tamil leaders such as Peri Sunderam, Malay leaders such as T. B. Jayah. Not only was the JYC able to transcend ethnic limitations by having under its umbrella a diversity of Ceylonese, it was thereby also able to overcome the limitations of its peninsular base (Cheran 2009). The spirit of sturdy independence its members extolled is evident from the very first session of the JYC held at the Ridgeway Hall, Jaffna (later the site of the Jaffna Town Hall) on 29-31 December 1924. Handy Perinbanayagam was the chief organizer and he was assisted by several Jaffna youth, prominent among them being M. Balasunderam and S. Durai Raja Singham. The JYC was the first organization in that era made up of members from the English-educated class, in Jaffna or elsewhere in the country, to use one of the indigenous languages together with English in the conduct of its business. One of those present at the 1924 Sessions in his speech highlighted the national awakening taking place at that time in the country. He called upon those present to alleviate the suffering of the economically weak, the unemployed, and the oppressed men and women. These laudable objectives, he stressed, may be achieved through a sincere desire to serve the motherland (Kadirgamar 1980; 2012). The emphasis thus was very much on national unity, social justice, and sectarianism. The JYC may be considered as perhaps the earliest true nation builders of Ceylon. They were nationalists of a very special kind as distinct from the narrower type exemplified by G. G. Ponnambalam, S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, S. J. V. Chelvanayakam, the Liberation Tigers of Thamil Eelam, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and the Jathika Hela Urumaya and like-minded groups of non-political actors in the country. To his eternal credit, Handy Perinbanayagam did not join a political party. He remained true to his ideals to the very end. Although the JYC subscribed to egalitarianism, Perinbanayagam was not a Marxist. His vision was broader, far more significant, infinitely more all-encompassing, and humane. The achievement of Handy Perinbanayagam becomes the greater when we remember that his radicalism was nurtured and preserved in an essentially conservative caste-bound feudalistic Ceylon/Sri Lanka. Men of Handy Perinbanayagam’s calibre will forever be remembered by those of us free of narrow political and social agendas for their sincerity and integrity – - qualities sadly not much in evidence today in our badly fractured society. The Jaffna Students’ Congress, founded in 1924, held its first sessions that year in Jaffna. The period 1925 – 1931 was one of significant growth and, in the latter year, the Students’ Congress became the Jaffna Youth Congress. The second Annual Sessions of the Congress were held in Keerimalai in 1925 and was addressed by P. de. S. Kularatne who, it is reported, had his audience of visionary youth spellbound; the third scheduled for April 1926 were postponed to December 1926 and held in Keerimalai, the postponement being due to an outbreak of cholera in Jaffna. The Sessions of 1927 were significant as this was the year Mahatma Gandhi was chief guest at the invitation of Handy Perinbanayagam. One of the key decisions taken at the Annual Sessions of 1928 was to establish similar student organizations in Kandy, Galle and Colombo and in other posts of the country with the eventual aim of setting up an All – Ceylon Students’ Congress. This decision became a reality, as Santasilan Kadirgamar notes, in May 1931 with the holding of its inaugural meeting at The Plaza Theatre, Wellawatte. Kadirgamar tells us that Jawaharlal Nehru, at the time holidaying in Sri Lanka, had attended the meeting in Wellawatte. In 1929, the venue for the Annual Sessions of the JYC was Kankesanturai whilst that in 1930 was Thirunelvely. The Sessions of 1931 are significant as it was at them that the famous or infamous (depending on one’s perspective) ‘Jaffna Boycott’ resolution was passed. This resolution called upon the members of the JYC to refrain from participating in the elections to the State Council as there was no purna swaraj or self-government on offer. Earlier the JYC had rejected the Donoughmore Commission’s proposals for the same reason — for not going far enough in the direction of self-government. In 1931, as noted above, the Jaffna Students’ Congress became the Jaffna Youth Congress. The Seventh Annual Sessions were held at the Jaffna Esplanade with Srimathie Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya, the sister- in- law of Sarojini Naidu as chief guest. 1934 is considered to be the year when the decline of the Congress began and the movement began to diminish as a force for change. It is also around this time that leading personalities of the day began to move once more towards sectarianism, moving away from the laudable goal of an overarching Ceylonese — as opposed to a Sinhala or Tamil nationalism with S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike founding the Sinhala Maha Jana Sabha and G. G. Ponnabalam the Tamil Maha Jana Sabhai. Apart from Jane Russell’s research into and commentary on the JYC in her doctoral dissertation published under the title Communal Politics under the Donoughmore Constitution 1931-1947 (Colombo: 1982), very little scholarly attention has been paid to the Jaffna Youth Congress by our historians and political scientists. Santasilan Kadirgamar’s indefatiguable labours as the primary historian of the JYC, therefore, assumes even greater significance. Somewhat cursory references to the JYC are found in the following publications: University of Ceylon History of Ceylon Volume 3 From the beginning of 19th Century to 1948, edited by K. M. de Silva (1973), Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism Its Origins and Development in the 19th and 20th Centuries, A.J. Wilson(2000), S.J.V. Chelvanayakam and the Crisis of Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism, 1947 – 1977 A Political Biography, A.J. Wilson (1994), A History of Sri Lanka, K.M. de Silva (1st Edition: 1980); (2nd Edition:2005), and Sri Lanka in the Modern Age A History of Contested Identities, Nira Wickramasinghe (2006). Interestingly Murugar Gunasingham, the author of Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism, A Study of its Origins (Sydney : 1999) chooses to ignore the JYC altogether! He makes mention of the Jaffna Association, Jaffna Tamil Association, Jaffna Hindu Youth Society, but makes no reference whatsoever to the Jaffna Youth Congress! A.J. Wilson thought that the JHC was ‘Idealistic and impractical’. According to Wilson, although the Congress’ motives were honorable, it let opportunities pass by. He was one of those who considered the ‘Jaffna Boycott’ a tactical blunder of sorts. Here’s how he put it: The protest movement (Jaffna Boycott) petered out after two years, but the Tamils had blundered by losing opportunities to secure places in the Board of Ministers, the elective executive under the Donoughmore Constitution. Jane Russell is of the view that ‘ the Youth Congress members performed social services in the villages, and their continual residence in the peninsula combined with such boldness, enthusiasm and almost quixotic idealism, made the Jaffna Youth Congress a very potent force indeed in the Northern Province from 1927 onwards’. It may well be that the JYC’s call for a boycott was politically naïve, ‘quixotic’ or unwise. But, the fact remains that, that decision wise or unwise, was not arrived at on the basis of communalism. It was perhaps a hasty decision taken in an anti-imperialist fervour, but it had nothing to do with communal politics that was rearing its ugly head by this time. In this regard, it must be noted for the record, that neither G.G. Ponnambalam nor S.J.V. Chelvanayakam ever identified with the JYC. Quoting from an editorial in one of our (unnamed) newspapers, T. Duraisingham in his Politics and Life in Our Times Volume 1 notes that: The story of the Youth Congress is the story of a splendid failure, it is splendid, in spite of its failure. It failed not because of the usual vices that corrode public movements, but because of its very virtue. In spite of its end, as untimely as it was unmerited, the courage and the ideals that lay behind it and the tenacity of purpose that characterized it while it lasted constitute an inspiration to all who come after it. Not too many political or social movements ever receive an obituary as memorable as the above. In these bleak times we are passing through, the ever fragrant memory of the JYC serves to lift the spirit of those of us who yet pursue that seemingly elusive brand of Sri Lankan nationalism — as opposed to the narrow and harmful sectarian nationalism that some of our misguided citizens appear determined to pursue — and helps sustain the hope for a better and meaningful future for us all. (Text of Comments made on the occasion of the release of Handy Perinbanayagam A Memorial Volume & The Jaffna Youth Congress)

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Patience with family is love....!!!



Fwd: Dealing with an Insult‏

pandkassociates@aol.com

This is one of the most beautiful message that I would have forwarded to you - navendren
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

DEALING with INSULT….Lord Buddha

Beautiful Quotes




If you are right then there is no need to get angry
And if you are wrong then you don't have any right to get angry.

Patience with family is love,
Patience with others is respect,
Patience with self is confidence
and
Patience with GOD is faith.!!!

Never Think Hard about PAST,
It brings Tears...
Don't Think more about FUTURE,
It brings Fears...
Live this Moment with a Smile,
It brings Cheers.!!!!

Every test in our life makes us bitter or better,
Every problem comes to make us or break us,
Choice is our whether we become victim or victorious !!!

Search a beautiful heart not a beautiful face.
Beautiful things are not always good
but good things are always beautiful.

Remember me like pressed flower in your Notebook.
It may not be having any fragrance
but will remind you of my existence forever in your life.

Monday, April 9, 2012

A recent study has suggested that the conditions caused by a mild drought might have been the reason for the collapse of the Mayan civilization.!!!



Mayan civilization was wiped out by drought - study

A recent study has suggested that the conditions caused by a mild drought might have been the reason for the collapse of the Mayan civilization. The research published in the journal Nature says a continuous 25 to 40 percent drop in rainfall reduced water supplies in the homeland of the ancient Maya civilization located in what is now Southern Mexico and Guatemala.

Researchers at the Yucatan Centre for Scientific Research in Southern Mexico and the University of Southampton used modeling techniques in order to estimate the rates of rainfall and evaporation between 800 and 950 CE, the decline period of Maya civilization.


Ancient Mayan civilization. Picture courtesy: Press TV

“These reductions amount to only 25 to 40 percent in annual rainfall, but they were large enough for evaporation to become dominant over rainfall, and open water was rapidly reduced,” said Professor Eelco Rohling of Southampton University.

“Societal disruptions and abandonment of cities are likely consequences of critical water shortages, especially because there seems to have been a rapid repetition of multi-year droughts,” he added.

Scientists have been analyzing different factors that could have been involved in the collapse of the classic Maya civilization for years offering theories such as social unrest, disease and deforestation.

Meanwhile, experts with the Mexico's National Institute of History and Anthropology (INAH) have found an inscription which refers to the Mayan 2012 prophesy.

The Mayan brick which was found near the Comalcalco ruins in southern Mexico, is about 1,300 years old and is said to have been laid facing inward or concealed with stucco, implying it was not meant to be seen.

This is the second reference to the date in Mayan glyphs. The first one was a stone tablet from the Tortuguero site in the Gulf coast state of Tabasco.

Although some experts say the date carved on the fragment is another reference to the Mayan 2012 apocalypse, many others still doubt that it is a definite reference to December 21, 2012 or December 23, 2012, the dates cited by proponents of the theory as the possible end of the world.

“I believe the date inscribed on the brick is a ‘Calendar Round,’ a combination of a day and month position that will repeat every 52 years,” said David Stuart, a specialist in Mayan epigraphy at the University of Texas at Austin.

Both Tortuguero tablet and the Comalcalco brick, were probably carved about 1,300 years ago and both are cryptic in some ways, experts claim.

The study suggests that the Tortuguero inscription describes something that is supposed to occur in 2012 involving Bolon Yokte, a mysterious Mayan god associated with both war and creation.

Some experts read the last eroded glyphs as perhaps saying, “He will descend from the sky.”

“Comalcalco Brick had been discovered several years ago and has been subject to thorough study. It is not on display and is being kept in storage at the institute,” said the spokesman for National Institute of Anthropology and History, Arturo Mendez.

The institute's experts say the Mayans saw time as a series of cycles that began and ended with regularity, but with nothing apocalyptic at the end of a given cycle.

“According to the Mayan concept, every 13 b'aktunoob ‘(which together account for 5,200 years) the cosmos is regenerated, completing a cycle of creation,” INAH said in a statement.

Meanwhile, according to Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), the team found an “important concentration” of graves along with architectural structures, ceramic pieces, lithic fragments and human burial sites in the rural community of Sitpach, some five kilometers east of the state capital of Merida.

Experts say the pieces date back to the Maya's Late Preclassic period, which “changes the previous chronology for this Maya region” in that part of the country, INAH said in a statement.

Press TV
dailynews.lk

Produced by Lake House Copyright © 2012 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

The Stranger CAME SECRETLY INTO OUR HOMES..!!!

by Bas Baskaran,CHICAGO,USA

The Stranger

A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger

who was new to our small town. From the beginning,

Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer

and soon invited him to live with our family. The

stranger was quickly accepted and was around

from then on.

As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my

family. In my young mind, he had a special niche.

My parents were complementary instructors: Mom

taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey.

But the stranger... he was our storyteller. He would

keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures,

mysteries and comedies.


If I wanted to know anything about politics, history

or science, he always knew the answers about the past,

understood the present and even seemed able to predict

the future! He took my family to the first major league

ball game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The

stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem

to mind.

Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of

us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to

say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet.


(I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.)

Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions,

but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them.

Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our home - not

from us, our friends or any visitors. Our long time visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my

ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush.



My Dad didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol but the

stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis. He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly, and pipes distinguished.

He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments

were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.

I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he

opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... And NEVER asked to leave.

More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved

in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly

as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you could walk into

my parents' den today, you would still find him sitting over

in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and

watch him draw his pictures.


His name?....
We just call him 'TV.'

(Note: This should be required
reading for every household!)

He has a wife now....we call her 'Computer.'

Their first child is "Cell Phone".

Second child "I Pod "

And JUST BORN THIS YEAR WAS a Grandchild:

I PAD




OH DEAR----HOW TRUE THIS IS!!!

How many do you have? T. V., Computer, Cell Phone, i pod, i PAD, etc.?

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Shiva Ayyadurai who invented e-mail...!!!

Shiva Ayyadurai who invented e-mail. The Smithsonian.‏


According to Shiva Ayyadurai, inventor of one of the world’s first email systems for which he received the first U.S. copyright on email, India and China lag behind the U. S. in innovation because of the lack of fundamental freedoms in these countries. He himself developed his system as a 14-year-old working among 60-year-olds, and it was like there was no difference. And this, he feels, is why innovation takes place in the U. S. The Smithsonian Institute has just honoured Ayyadurai by acquiring the tapes, documentation and copyrights relating to his invention. A news story on the development from the Washington Post follows
--------------------------------------------------------------
V.A. Shiva Ayyadurai: Inventor of e-mail honored by Smithsonian

By Emi Kolawole,

The Smithsonian has acquired the tapes, documentation, copyrights, and over 50,000 lines of code that chronicle the invention of e-mail. The lines of code that produced the first “bcc,” “cc,” “to” and “from” fields were the brainchild of then-14-year old inventor V.A. Shiva Ayyadurai.




On Thursday, his name, his 1978 invention documentation, and the associated copyright, were entered in the Smithsonian permanent collection. The documentation will be archived in the National Museum of American History and put into an online exhibit. The documents will be scanned as soon as this week to be featured on a site under the Smithsonian.org domain. The date for the site launch has not yet been determined.




Ayyadurai's path to the Smithsonian started with a series of articles he wrote about the U.S. Postal Service's decline and his concern that the USPS was failing to innovate. His take: The Postal Service, carrying on the spirit of innovation which led to its creation, should have embraced e-mail years ago.




After a profile in Time magazine and a call from the Postal Service Inspector General asking for his ideas, Ayyadurai's alma mater, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, called to insist that it would be improper for the university to take the documentation of his work, and that it belonged in the Smithsonian. Conversations began, eventually leading to the Smithsonian's latest addition and the celebration Thursday.




"My mom just passed away. So, it was unfortunate she wasn't there," said Ayyadurai during an interview at the Washington Post Thursday afternoon. "She represented for me a woman who came from very, very meager backgrounds — struggled to come here and then become a mathematician herself at a time when women weren't supposed to get an education and work at a university as a systems analyst.”




“I think,without my mom,” he continued, “I would not have, as a young person, been introduced to that environment and had the opportunity to work there."




Ayyadurai recounted how a family friend who had heard of MIT recommended that he apply. Reluctant, Ayyadurai filled out his application in pencil, with the family friend standing over his shoulder to make sure he finished.




"I didn't even know about MIT until two weeks before I applied," said Ayyadurai.




When he arrived he entered an environment still shadowed by racism. It was the beginning of the Reagan Administration, and the campus, like the rest of the nation, was still struggling to integrate. And there was another problem: "The people there didn't seem very happy," said Ayyadurai.




"I came in having developed this e-mail system, and when I went to my classes I was very bored. ... I, essentially, got involved in a lot of radical politics," he continued.




Coming from India, which, at the time, had a rigid caste system, he identified with the black and poor white students on campus.




"I was very intrigued by how do you change the system," said Ayyadurai, who balanced his time between studying technology and studying politics. Changing that system, he continued, was more complex than developing an e-mail system.





A recommendation for the young inventor




When it comes to today's young people, particularly the 14-year-old eager to become an inventor, Ayyadurai recommends embarking on independent studies, and taking a break from school before heading to college.




"I, in fact, believe people should work before they even go to school," said Ayyadurai, a faculty lecturer at MIT in the Biological Engineering Division. "Many people don't even know why they're going to college."




But he's not against going to college entirely, rather he is a fan of a combination of experiential learning and rote discipline. After all, Ayyadurai is at the front lines when it comes to preparing America's youth for careers in science and technology.




He developed a class on traditional medicine and systems technology and another on systems visualization at MIT. The latter gives students who would otherwise not engage in the arts an opportunity to illustrate a complex concept. The course went from 6 to 32 and now 50 students, becoming one of the most popular classes on campus.




Based on his experience with the class, Ayyadurai recommends teaching the systems first and then bringing in the more complex, detailed math and science.




"The problems of today's world are not just learning how to build a computer better or writing a software program. A lot of that stuff is being outsourced," said Ayyadurai. "The big problems are large-scale systems." Think education, transportation and even relationships, he said.




"If we can teach students that the world is very complex and to understand that complexity you need to have a systems approach,” he continued, "I think that systems approach is what students want to learn."





The intellectual property debate




"I fundamentally do not believe in the patenting of software," said Ayyadurai. "It would be like Shakespeare patenting the tragic love story."




He admits that in his work as a venture capitalist he has had to go against his own belief. But, rather than patents, Ayyadurai prefers copyright, which allows others to innovate using the technology.




By pursuing a copyright on his e-mail work, Ayyadurai opened it up for use, but with credit. Had he pursued a patent, it could have significantly stunted the technology’s growth even as it had the potential to make him in­cred­ibly wealthy.





America, freedom and innovation




"We fail to recognize how much freedom we actually have here relative to these other countries," said Ayyadurai when asked what the United States gets wrong when it comes to moving its innovation economy forward.




"That awareness,” he continued, “is what needs to be developed for people."




India and China, two countries making significant strides in technology and innovation still lag behind the U.S., according to Ayyadurai, who says it's due to a lack of fundamental freedoms in those nations.




"We should not really have any types of jobs issues here," continued Ayyadurai, saying that the "basis of American democracy" is innovation.




"Innovation actually demands freedom, and freedom demands innovation," said Ayyadurai. "I don't think there's more money we need to throw at it."




Ayyadurai also has some recommendations for the presidential candidates when it comes to policy proposals that will accelerate rather than slow innovation growth.




"Small businesses, I believe, are the place where innovation really takes place," said Ayyadurai.




With venture capital moving away from mid- and small-tier businesses, those companies are in need of government assistance. "There's this whole strata of small businesses that needs tax credits, I think."





Are we overcommunicating?




"I think people are overcommunicating in the sense they have missed out on what is communication," said Ayyadurai. "A lot of time when people are texting, it's not the content — you don't need to text — but people are doing it just to connect with another human being, so a lot of the information is almost irrelevant."




"I think we're in this phase now in humanity where we have all these communication vehicles but we still are, as humans, trying to figure out how do we connect," he continued, "because that ritual mode of communication is removed from us."

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Moral renaissance to salvage the world..!!!

Moral renaissance to salvage the world

By V Sivasupramaniam


Children need to imbibe moral values early in life. File Photo of Prime Minister John Key with the students of the Nanaskar Education Phulwari during his visit to the Centre in Manurewa, Auckland on October 17, 2010.


Every society needs to revive, refurbish and reinforce its morals and values, which are currently under serious threat of erosion by new challenges created by globalisation.

Modern information technology and other emerging scenarios of the global village can easily destroy the virtues and values built over thousands of years.

In this ever-changing world, people must be prepared to overcome the challenges and it is only fitting that due importance is given to ‘Moral Renaissance,’ which is the greatest need of the hour.

Morals are an invaluable guide for any society, particularly for the younger generation. Morals empower them to become mature citizens.

They are the principles of right and wrong, standards of behaviour, norms of life that help to build humane attitudes and foster better human relationship and world peace.

Character and discipline are the cornerstones of a sound moral fabric that take generations to build on sound educational and religious foundation. They form the culture of a society, community and the country.

Cultural essence

This culture forms the basis of nation building.

Culture is organised system of behaviour and is normative because it defines standards of conduct.

According to anthropologist Edward Burnett Taylor, “Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, morals, customs and any other capabilities acquired by man as a member of a society.”

The destiny of a nation is built on character.

Spiritual strength is character and the spirit of the people is their greatest asset, which builds discipline or regulated way of life at all levels.

The world is for living unitedly by all people. Moving with many people and living with them in harmony, sociability and understanding another person’s nature and stature is culture.

What is the basis for the uninterrupted continuity of human history?

Humankind was saved from destruction by cultured people of mature wisdom, not by emperors or those in battlefields.

The blood that Jesus Christ shed when he was crucified on the cross was the symbol of a culture; if his blood had not done so, the sins of the sinners would not have been washed away.

The teachings of Lord Buddha and Prophet Mohammed were the essence of a culture. They made the world a continuing history.

In the modern era, Mahatma Gandhi led India to freedom through the culture of non-violence, sans enmity.

The beauty of the interior (mind) is culture; the exterior beauty is civilisation.

Culture and civilisation are like the two sides of a coin. Culture within civilisation and civilisation within culture should articulate themselves.

Moulding youth

It is a great responsibility on the parents, teachers, community leaders, religious leaders, policy makers and the media to build, instil and propagate the values of discipline and character in the younger generation to empower them to become balanced leaders and model citizens of their respective countries. This should be an ongoing exercise vital for any country.

As a multi-cultured nation, New Zealand could be a model for religious tolerance and cohabitation. It should lead the process of building valuable traditions, emphasising value-based education, religious involvement and inter-religious harmony.

Continuous education

Education is eternal and is much more than gaining knowledge.

Knowledge is power and love gives us fullness.

Education moulds the character and prepares one to face challenges in life; it promotes humility and correct attitudes to harmonise human relationship to foster world peace.

Education is not limited to schools and teachers; it overflows into the home, workplace, community and the environment; parents, peer groups and elders become participants and promoters of lifelong education.

Education should strengthen the minds and hearts of the youth.

Community and religious leaders, elders and teachers should shoulder responsibility. They should be positive in their community-based attitudes devoid of personal ego and selfishness and lead by example.

Education should be based on values, such as reading, recording, rewriting, recalling and reviewing. It should promote discipline and concentration in children during their formative years.

Education with good behaviour weans children away from negative attitudes, puts them on the correct path and helps to build confidence and knowledge.

Mental training, mental fitness and mental alertness make them good decision makers in life. Emotional intelligence helps them to develop anxiety, anger, worry and danger controls to make them good community leaders.

Self-motivation, self-discipline, self-confidence and self-reliance are traits that build determination, persistence and perseverance in life.

The essentials

Education should promote the Three ‘Rs’ in children: Respect for self, Respect for others and Responsibility for all their actions. In later life, these qualities would keep them away from drug abuse, vandalism and other antisocial behaviour.

Respecting elders, teachers and a high sense of gratitude should be inculcated in the young minds from their early age and these should grow with them. They should be taught high values of accountability and transparency in public life.

It is equally important to teach children to be open to meaningful changes, without allowing their values swept away by the fast moving world.

They should be trained to share their knowledge. A well formed, harmonious home is the forerunner for development of the child.

The home is the child’s first experience of the world. A loving and caring atmosphere is the real foundation for a child’s life.

An ideal family is an ideal university.

Teachers’ role

Teachers should be committed to faith and the future of humanity, country and the world. They have a vital role in building an ideal nation.

Teaching is not a trade but a calling, a vocation and above all a mission.

For children, percept and practice are more important than preaching. They live more by example than by words. Elders should live the way they preach; there should be a close inter-relationship between word and deed.

More than 2000 years ago, Thiruvalluvar, one of the greatest poets of all time wrote in his famous ‘Thirukkural,’ “Karka Kasadara Karka; Katrapin Nirka Atharuku Thaga.” Translated into English, this means, “Learn well what should be learnt; and thereafter, behave and live accordingly.”

Religious values

Religion is a binding force that deepens the solidarity of the society; all religions require us to look upon life as an opportunity for self-realisation.

Religion is the inspiration for life. It should not be confined to dogmas or rites but should help people develop abiding faith in absolute values of truth, love and justice.

A child should be made to realise that truth is God. True knowledge is supreme and is eternal. Religion should help to appreciate and achieve the values of humanity.

The need for religion, a system of thought and devotion to a cause are all intrinsic elements of human nature. A religious system that is capable of responding creatively to every fresh challenge is healthy and progressive and hence should be appreciated and welcomed by all.

If religion becomes alive and real, the face of the world may change.

Every religion is sacred and hence should not be misused to attain other ends.

There should be an inward change through discipline and any change without discipline is only outward show, which amounts to cheating one’s own self.

Shrinking world

The fast changing technology, scientific innovations, space exploration, thirst for consumerism and the world as a global village are all pushing people to find solace in traditional values of religion for peace of mind to sustain the human system.

Hence, it is appropriate to fall back on high moral values built on sound educational principles, high religious values and strict discipline and conduct. This is also the sure way of empowering the youth to become ideal citizens of tomorrow’s world.

V Sivasupramaniam is a former employee of Education Service in his native Sri Lanka. He has also worked in Nigeria and Seychelles. He is a freelance writer resident in Auckland.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Anything that brings spiritual, mental, or physical weakness, touch it not with the toes of your feet. - Swami Vivekananda

A beautiful message - .............By...Navendren

Sairam,

Anything that brings spiritual, mental, or physical weakness, touch it not with the toes of your feet. - Swami Vivekananda

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants..
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2011.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minute walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't overdo. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner of His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...

Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything..
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come..
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Last but not the least:
40. Please Forward this to everyone you care about.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Dealing with an insult?

Subject: Dealing with an insult?

The Buddha explained how to handle insult and maintain compassion.
One day Buddha was walking through a village. A very angry and rude young man came up and began insulting him. "You have no right teaching others," he shouted. "You are as stupid as everyone else. You are nothing but a fake."

Buddha was not upset by these insults. Instead he asked the young man "Tell me, if you buy a gift for someone, and that person does not take it, to whom does the gift belong?"

The man was surprised to be asked such a strange question and answered, "It would belong to me, because I bought the gift."

The Buddha smiled and said, "That is correct. And it is exactly the same with your anger. If you become angry with me and I do not get insulted, then the anger falls back on you. You are then the only one who becomes unhappy, not me. All you have done is hurt yourself."

"If you want to stop hurting yourself, you must get rid of your anger and become loving instead. When you hate others, you yourself become unhappy. But when you love others, everyone is happy......"

Beautiful Quotes

If you are right then there is no need to get angry.
If you are wrong then you don't have any right to get angry!

Patience with family is love...
Patience with others is respect...
Patience with one self is confidence...
and Patience with GOD is faith...

Never Think Hard about THE PAST,
It brings Tears...
Don't Think more about THE FUTURE,
It brings Fears...
Live this Moment with a Smile...
It brings Cheers.

Every test in our life makes us bitter or better,
Every problem comes to make us or break us,
Choice is ours whether we become victim or victorious!

Search a beautiful heart not a beautiful face...
Beautiful things are not always good...
but good things are always beautiful...

Remember God is like a pressed flower in your Notebook.
It may not have any fragrance
but will remind you of HIS existence forever in your life!

Do you know why God created gaps between fingers?
So that someone who is special to you comes and fills those gaps by holding your hands forever!