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Showing posts from September 17, 2009


Book: Human Values and Professional Ethics

Written by S. Kannan and K. Srilakshmi, ‘Human Values and Professional Ethics’ focus on using ancient wisdom of Vedas for solving today's problems. The book is of scholarly nature and has been included in the Uttar Pradesh Technical University Syllabus. The book delves into Green IT – “as IT adoption increases in India, we also need to ensure that green IT is inculcated right from the beginning in order to avoid a situation where the nation gets saddled with a legacy and obsolete infrastructure.” The Book contains case studies for practical understanding of the concept of professional ethics. Certain philosophical insights based on Scriptures have also been added in order to enrich the understanding of the value system and harmony in a holistic manner. Human Values and Professional Ethics consist of five Divisions and twenty nine Chapters. The first Division deals with value education, self exploration, natural acceptance, human aspirations, prosperity, happiness a

Puratassi Fasting - Puratasi Vratam

Puratassi Fasting, or Puratasi Vratam, is observed in the Tamil month of Puratasi (September – October). In 2023, Puratasi month begins on September 18 and ends on October 17. Puratasi Masam is of great importance to Tamilians as it is believed that Lord Venkateswara (Balaji) appeared on the earth in this month. Purattasi Saturdays are dedicated to Lord Shani or Shani dev. Some people observe partial fasting on all days in Puratasi others limit it to Purattasi Saturdays. Some devotees of Lord Venkateswara opt for strict fast on Purattasi Saturdays which involves not even drinking a drop of water - Nirjala Vratam. Some devotees only eat vegetarian food during the entire month. They also quit smoking and consuming alcohol for one month. On Saturdays, Naamum, the two feet symbol of Lord Vishnu’s feet, is drawn on the forehead by males and women opt for a red dot. Hymns dedicated to Lord Balaji are chanted on Saturdays. Devotees offer Ghee or Ellu Lamp

Brahmachari Uddhav Chaitanya on being Spiritual

Brahmachari Uddhav Chaitanya is associated with the Chinmaya Mission. Spirituality is a process of reversal. Mind you, the process is reversing and not “aversing”. It is a technique to reverse the focus from the external world to the internal world. That does not mean that we become averse to the world outside. It is just that we reorient our focus to something internal. It is a habit that has to be gradually developed and inculcated. For instance, people in India habitually drive on the left-hand side because that is the rule.  When we first come here to the United States and see people driving on the right-hand side and when we ourselves have to drive on the right-hand side, it takes us at least a few weeks to reorient ourselves. For some it may take even longer! So the habit of outwardly-ness which has been a part of our nature through the ages, through so many lives, as so many different species has to be changed to turn inwards.  That is called be