Ajay0

Noam Chomsky offers some penetrating insights on the nature of NATO... https://www.azquotes.com/author/2834-Noam_Chomsky/tag/nato

War, pandemics, conflict and other adversities creates an agitated state of mind which tends to be negative rather than positive. In such circumstances it is important to be mentally equanimous and calm, and focus on the positives deliberately instead of the negatives. This helps one to make the best of the given situation or circumstances. War is a man-made calamity and it actually gives us data on how inadequate the world's mechanisms are in terms of preventing conflict and fostering peace, and is in sore need of an upgrade.

An informative article by Sister Pratibha Daya of the Brahmakumaris on staying calm in the midst of chaos. https://svbrahmakumaris.org/7-ways-to-stay-calm-in-chaos/

Insightful article by Sadhguru on the nature of peace.... https://www.ishafoundation.org/Peace/sadhguru-on-peace.isa

This is insightful and well-articulated. Obviously the security concerns of both eastern europe and Russia should be taken into consideration. Eastern european countries can create an alliance among themselves if needed, against Russia , similar to NATO in western europe. However, inviting both U.S-NATO to Russian borders through alliance is a threat which the Russians cannot be passive to. ( It will also be reneging on promises made to Gorbachev and Russia at the end of the cold war by the U.S. and Nato.) This in turn creates the threat of a nuclear holocaust wiping out the U.S, Europe and Russia, which the rest of the world cannot remain passive or indifferent about. This is why I stated that impartial entities like the UN and NAM should get involved in this crisis, so that a mountain is not made out of a mole-hill.

Putin's invasions of Georgia and Ukraine came up after they expressed willingness to join NATO. U.S-NATO can deploy wmd alongside Russian borders which can give them a decisive strategic advantage over Russia. The Americans have a strategic document that emphasizes pre-emptive strikes on Russian missile bases, and deployment alongside Russian borders greatly falicitates that . This is the main reason why Putin guided by his security experts is against neighboring countries like Georgia and Ukraine joining Nato. He considers the deployment of wmd on Russian borders as a threat. The U.S went to the verge of all out nuclear war and mutually assured destruction with the U.S.S.R to get rid of nuclear weapons aimed against it in neighboring Cuba in 1962. The U.S.S.R finally showed self-restraint in taking off its nuclear weapons and missiles off Cuba. Now when the roles are reversed, U.S.-NATO forces are not showing any similar restraint in keeping off the border states of Russia, knowing fully the regional instability their encroaching into such regions would create. A fully blown out nuclear war is obviously a lose-lose scenario for both sides. I am not fond of Putin myself, whom I see as a mediocre statesman and excellent politician with an hawkish air around him, cleverly exploiting the insecurities of Russians upon the encroaching U.S-Nato alliance. It was the Russians themselves who deposed of Napoleon's dictatorship, ended feudalism and created the russian republic, ended the Nazi war machine permanently, and deposed off the communist hardliner coup in favor of democracy. Left alone by the U.S.-Nato, similarly the russians will soon get tired of Putin and get rid off him from office as well. Last year, the independent Russian newspaper Novaya gazeta, and Maria Ressa of the Filipino news website Rappler won the Nobel peace award “for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said when announcing the prize in 2021. I think, given proper space and time, democracy and freedom has a better chance of evolving to their full potential in Russia than in the U.S. and Europe, where plutocratic entities dictate government policies under the guise of democracy.

Yes, the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq and Russian invasion of Ukraine are both unfortunate and tragic. It means that world entities like the UN and NAM, both of whom had been designed to prevent conflict and foster peace had failed in their duties. It seems they have not done their homework well in terms of brainstorming conflict preemption or resolution doctrines for all conceivable scenarios and implementing them.

The UN and NAM should rise to the occasion in order to ensure a timely de-escalation of the conflict raging in Ukraine-Russia. NAM, the non-aligned movement was created in the previous century in order to prevent the world from moving into a third world war. They tried to achieve this by raising awareness of the dangers of a world war and nuclear holocaust, and by not aligning militarily with either the US bloc or Soviet bloc. The formation of this group then helped to bring awareness and perspective of the dangers of modern war, and helped to regulate the thought process of belligerent politicians then, and to view the bigger picture as well. After the UN, NAM is the largest grouping of states worldwide. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Aligned_Movement The UN, NAM and impartial world leaders need to create a tranquil space of dialogue and diplomacy in between these belligerent entities so as to defuse passions and de-escalate the conflict, and ensure that the security concerns of Europe, Ukraine and Russia are addressed properly and adequately.

Insightful story of a Vietnam war veteran who became a zen buddhist monk... https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-02/vietnam-war-veteran-zen-buddhist-monk/100731206

An insightful article by Sister Jayanti Kirpalani, an administrative leader of the Prajapita Brahmakumaris, on cultivating values in everyday life . https://svbrahmakumaris.org/1859/ The main points of the article can be summarized in sequential order as... Morning meditation and contemplation of values . Pausing and focusing at periodic intervals during the day to re-orient oneself in terms of these values. Performing an audit and self-review at night to identify any shortcomings in actions on the basis of these values. Based on self-analysis, learning and correcting oneself if needed. Self-motivating oneself in terms of commitment and enthusiasm to the given values for the next day.

The ancient Thiruvathira festival in India which celebrates the cosmic dance of Shiva as a golden red-flamed light, was celebrated this month on December 20. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiruvathira The cosmic dance of Lord Shiva represents five activities – Creation, Protection, Destruction, Embodiment and Release. In essence, it represents the continuous cycle of creation and destruction. This cosmic dance is said to take place in every particle and is considered to be the source of all energy. Physicist Fritjof Capra states in The Tao of Physics: “The Dance of Shiva symbolises the basis of all existence. At the same time, Shiva reminds us that the manifold forms in the world are not fundamental, but illusory and ever-changing. Modern physics has shown that the rhythm of creation and destruction is not only manifest in the turn of the seasons and in the birth and death of all living creatures, but is also the very essence of inorganic matter." Interestingly, the monotheistic Dharmic sect the Prajapita Brahmakumaris consider God Shiva to be an incorporeal point of golden-red light, synonymous with Jehovah, Allah and Ahura Mazda of the other monotheistic religions where there are similar connotations and associations with light.

Kiran Bedi was India's first female IPS (Indian police service ) officer, who was noted for her innovative prison reforms which gained worldwide acclaim and won her the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1994. In 2003, Bedi became the first woman to be appointed as head of the United Nations Police and Police Advisor in the United Nations Department of Peace Operations. Bedi's famous prison reforms was to introduce yoga and vipassana meditation classes to change prisoner attitudes of a criminal nature. This model was highly successful in terms of results and consequently was replicated around the world in Brazil, Canada, Israel, Mongolia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom and the United States. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doing_Time,_Doing_Vipassana https://prison.dhamma.org/ https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/19/britains-most-dangerous-prisoners-to-get-meditation-lessons https://edition.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/09/prison.meditation/index.html S.N.Goenka, the principal teacher and educator of Vipassana meditation around the world, had this to say with respect to crime and criminal tendencies from the perspective of buddhist psychology... " It is impossible to commit an unwholesome action—to insult, kill, steal, or rape without generating great agitation in the mind, great craving and aversion. This moment of craving or aversion brings unhappiness now, and more in the future." Buddhist psychology and techniques like mindfulness and vipassana can be useful tools in reforming the criminal behavior of prisoners for the better around the world. Mindfulness as a practice has also been endorsed by western psychiatry as complementing therapy effectively or having clinical applications. https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/mindfulness In fact, this theme of application of meditation techniques to reform criminals have their origin in the story of Angulimala, a serial killer in ancient India who was reformed into a harmless monk by the Buddha.

The fact that the Chinese government messed up both the Sars Cov-1 outbreak in 2002 and the present SARS-CoV-2 in 2019, failing to warn world governments in time, do showcase lack of transparency and accountability in the system. They need to be taken to task by the UN or other regulatory bodies in the world, or else we may face a third coronavirus a few years later after all this is over. As for the lab leak theory , I think it is possible, and I won't be surprised if the Chinese government had gone the extra mile in covering up its tracks and wiping out all evidences in this regard.

There is a saying by Georges Hébert, one of the pioneers of Parkour, "Être fort pour être utile" (Be strong to be helpful). Imho, I think you need to work on developing yourself to optimal levels before being selfless. If a man who does not know how to swim jumps into a lake to help someone else out of selflesness, it will only increase the casualties.

Putin is in a lot of trouble with pro-democracy activists in his own country, especially after the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. He probably want to create some sort of issues with Biden so as to raise rapidly dwindling support for him in Russia. It's an old political trick. High time he left office gracefully rather than create the risk of an another Russian revolution.

All of spirituality is contained in that one word: Awareness. ~ Mata Amritanandamayi Proceed on life’s journey with awareness. ~ Mata Amritanandamayi If I were to summarize it ( Guruma's teachings) into one thing, it would be awareness. How to develop that awareness-insight. I am not referring to awareness at the level of the mind as seen in mountaineers or astronauts. A slip in awareness and the mountaineer can be buried alive under snow or the astronaut blasted away from his ship. But that awareness does not transform them or cause them to disassociate from the mind and its functions. To be an observer is to be totally neutral and to be a witness. And somewhere, I would add, the awareness of who I am, or what the truth is. ~ Anandamurti Gurumaa How to do meditation, many people ask me. Don't do anything, to just go into thoughtless awareness. Try to go to the thoughtless awareness. If you can get into that condition of thoughtless awareness you've done your job, because that's the point where you are with the truth, with the reality, with the joy, with everything that is so fundamental. ~ Nirmala Devi When you are in thoughtless awareness, you must know that you are in the kingdom of God and His people, His arrangements, His consciousness, is going to look after you. ~ Nirmala Devi Awareness is the background for all of our experiences, and yet in our ordinary day-to-day lives, it is often obscured by habituated thoughts and emotions. Most teaching and meditation practices are designed to cut through this habituated seeing into the Background of Awareness which is our innate nature and which is, in and of itself, Clear Seeing. ~ Metta Zetty Awareness is the constant throughout all experience. Recognizing this is the key to abiding Satisfaction. ~ Metta Zetty

The Golden Rule is a guide or moral compass that is surprisingly present in diverse cultures and nations such as the ancient egyptian, Indian, Greek, Persian , Roman, Chinese, Jewish, Christian, Islamic . Bahai and so on. It is also present in secular humanism as well. This can be considered thus as ' a global moral code' as you stated. This also implies that universal values may exist whether we discover them or not, like the law of gravity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Rule

“The pollution of the planet is only an outward reflection of an inner psychic pollution: millions of unconscious individuals not taking responsibility for their inner space.” ~ Eckhart Tolle I don’t want to tell anyone how much water they should use or shouldn’t use. But whatever you do – make it as conscious as possible. If you become conscious, you will only use as much as you need to. This will make a world of difference. Right now, we are behaving as if we’re the last generation on the planet. ~ Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev When you live consciously, your response to situation that arise will be agile and appropriate. ~ Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/india-to-supply-10-million-doses-of-coronavirus-vaccine-to-africa-1-million-to-un-health-workers-mea/articleshow/80512516.cms As per Indian ministry of external affairs ( MEA) , India will supply 10 million doses of coronavirus vaccine to Africa, and around 1 million doses to UN health workers. India has gifted over 55 lakh doses of coronavirus vaccine to neighboring countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and so on. Shipments to Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Mauritius were awaiting regulatory clearances. https://science.thewire.in/health/india-vaccine-deliveries-south-asia/ India authorised two vaccine candidates this month for emergency use at home, one licensed from Oxford University and AstraZeneca and another developed at home by Bharat Biotech in partnership with the state-run Indian Council of Medical Research. Both are manufactured locally. Many low and middle-income countries are relying on India, the world’s biggest vaccine maker, for supplies to start COVID-19 immunisation programmes and bring an end to their outbreaks. “The Pharmacy of the World will deliver to overcome the COVID challenge,” foreign minister S. Jaishankar said on Twitter, adding the first vaccine candidates’ lots had reached Bhutan and the Maldives.

Yesterday, as I was arriving from the market after buying a pair of slippers, I stopped at a scenic place full of greenery and with young buffalo calves tied to trees. As I was enjoying the scene I found that there was a slaughterhouse in a nearby building and the animals were actually meant for slaughter. Having seen a few youtube videos recently on the brutality of animal slaughter in slaughterhouses, I sympathized with the young calves and felt sorry for them. One of the calves was bleating a lot repeatedly indicating stress, and I went forward to it hoping to comfort it a bit. Interestingly, the calf, seeing me coming near, itself came near to me indicating interest in sociability and companionship. I stroked his head and face lovingly for some time, at which he visibly relaxed. He poked his face at me for some more strokes which I obliged. The continuous bleating stopped, and he started eating the grass around staying next to me, peacefully. While stroking, I was surprised to see a clear dark line of tear streams from his eyes to the lower part of his face. I wondered whether this was actually tears of emotion, or tears associated with eye infection or hormonal biochemical changes or something. (Checking the internet today I found that there had been an instance of a calf visibly crying after its mother was knocked down dead by a truck while crossing a road.There were similar articles in this regard. https://sg.tv.yahoo.com/newsflare/buffalo-calf-cries-mother-gets-120000441.html ) Later reflecting on this experience, I remembered a orphaned girl I met a decade back, and whose head I stroked affectionately. She had similarly and very tangibly relaxed after a single friendly stroke on the head. Imo, based on these experiences, children, whether human or animal, are quite sensitive and insecure when without their family, and suffer from high stress levels. I think, in terms of animal rights, young calves should be exempt from slaughter at least till they had matured or grown up. Returning back home I was glad that I had turned to vegetarianism and was not contributing to animal slaughter in this regard.

You might find these sayings by Swami Vivekananda, insightful and helpful in strengthening your convictions for self-mastery and identifying the natural bliss within yourself. https://vivekavani.com/swami-vivekananda-quotes-pleasure/

As per the Prajapita Brahmakumari religious philosophy, peace and joy are the natural qualities of the soul, but these are obscured by intense desires in the form of cravings and aversions for pleasure and pain, due to identification with the mind-body complex, and which produces misery and suffering. Rather than being in the state of pure consciousness , one identifies blindly with the temporary body and consequently experiences negative emotions and vices in the form of lust, hatred, greed, inordinate attachment and egoism. This state is known as body-consciousness, and body-consciousness is considered as the source of all vices. Considering oneself as an eternal conscious soul in a temporary body and identifying with the consciousness within is considered as soul-consciousness. This generates peace and tranquility in the system. Thus heaven and hell is considered as a state of mind or consciousness.

There is a lot of truth in this statement. Georges Hébert , the French founder of Hebertism ( a training programme encompassing physical fitness and ethical behavior) had as his personal motto , "Être fort pour être utile" ("Be strong to be helpful"). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Hébert

Psychological pain arises when the situation at present does not conform to our desires (craving/aversion). The magnitude of pain will be proportional to the degree of magnitude of our desires not satisfied. Or to the extent we are unconsciously rejecting the situation or present moment. Stronger our desires, the more the mind will be in psychological time, that is, in the past or future rather than present moment awareness, and this is said to be productive of psychological misery in corresponding proportion due to its unnatural state. We can either try to satisfy our desires, which however tends to multiply with time, or we can consciously reduce our desires with reasoning based on wisdom, and focus on our legitimate needs instead.

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/coverage/bon-appetit-with-sun-40457 In 2007, both the German and Indian governments worked with the spiritual institution of Prajapita Brahmakumaris to create the world's largest solar cooker and a solar thermal power plant in Talheti at the base of Mount Abu, Rajasthan, India where the international headquarters of the Prajapita Brahmakumaris is located. This resulted in considerable decrease in consumption of carbon based fossil fuels and creating a pollution free environment. 38000 vegetarian meals can be potentially cooked at one go at the solar kitchen. At present, the food is being cooked for around 17,500 people from India and all over the world who are either residing in or visiting the campus. The kitchen and the roof have been designed by Switzerland-based Wolfgang Scheffler, regarded as the father of solar community kitchens, along with BKWSU’s renewable energy department. The entire solar installation generates 3.6 tonnes of steam every day which is used for preparing food and drinks. Around 50 kg of rice can be cooked within 12 minutes. “It saves around 200 litres of diesel and 1.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in a day. The kitchen also saves 184 kg of LPG every day,” says Aneta Loj, research and development coordinator, India One Solar Thermal power project at BKWSU. The project was conceived and executed with the objective of developing a green technology which is suitable for India and can be replicated elsewhere. Hopefully, this successful model of green energy can inspire similar initiatives all around the world, especially community kitchens, and reduce dependence on fossil fuels further.