Vedanta vs Atheism

A father had a small conversation with his five year old daughter.

Dad: I have NOG!
Daughter: Where is it?
Dad: You can't see it. It is invisible.
Daughter: Can I touch it?
Dad: It cannot be felt by the skin. It is untouchable.
Daughter: Can I smell it?
Dad: It has no smell.
Daughter: Can I hear it?
Dad: Nope.
Daughter: Can I taste it?
Dad: It is tasteless.
Daughter: Describe NOG to me.
Dad: NOG is so subtle that is beyond thoughts. Your thoughts cannot think of it. NOG is beyond understanding of humans.
Daughter: What does NOG do?
Dad: Nothing.
Daughter: There is no NOG.

Children are unbiased; they tend to arrive at truth sooner than biased adults.
Vedanta is traditional Hindu philosophy. Vedanta says God (Brahman) cannot be seen, touched, smelt, heard or tasted. God is beyond mind and intellect. So humans cannot think about it or understand it. God is doerless (akarta) i.e. God does not perform any action.
Atheism says there is no God.
What then is the difference between Vedanta and Atheism? None, as far as our behavior in this world is concerned. So the comparison, "Vedanta vs Atheism", is meaningless. What really matters in this world is, "Is the person virtuous?"
A virtuous person, sooner or later, thinks "Who am I?" In meditation (both a Vedantin and Atheist) experience the answer. Then again, there is no difference between the two.

RBI drops interest rates

Today RBI dropped interest rates by 0.5%. In India M3 money supply or inflation is 11.2%, during the last 12 months, as per RBI. Dropping interest rates means higher inflation. So was dropping interest rates the right action?

There is deflation in the world. Governments hate deflation because it means lesser tax revenues. Foolish people hate defaltion because their income falls. Smart people like deflation because the purchasing power of their existing currency rises.

Governments all over the world e.g. Russia, Brazil, Venenzuala, etc and now India combat deflation by devaluing their currency; lower interest rates means that currency will become less valuable. Inflation is a form theft; it steals from savers to the benefit of debtors. The only way to protect yourself is by investing in physical assets like gold and silver.

How to access a blocked site?

Indian government has blocked access to many web sites. The official reasons are piracy, anti-national, etc. When you access these web sites, you will get a message similar to "Your requested URL has been blocked as per the directions received from Department of Telecommunications, Government of India. Please contact administrator for more information."

If you are still interested in accessing that web site, then please download and install Tor Browser. This browser accesses the web site via a network of other computers. So no governemnt can track or block access via this browser.

Nitin Gadkari's plan will make India poor.

Nitin Gadkari, transport minister of India, is borrowing a huge number of dollars (Reference). He will use these dollars to build roads, highways, tall skyscapers, etc. Reference. This act will mostly benefit Gadkari and his close friends; the indian citizen will be stuck with a huge debt to be paid back in foreign exchange.

I would have no problems with these constructions if a private party was building them; because then the Indian citizen does not have to repay the loans. I would have a much smaller problem, if Gadkari was borrwowing in rupees and payment was to be made back in rupees. This way at least the profits will remain in India. But, Gadkari is borrowing in foriegn exchange. This is a big problem. Indian rupee has been falling. It will likely continue to fall. So this means Gadkari's plan will drive India to bankruptcy.

Highways, tall buildings, etc primarily benefit a select few; while the whole country is laden with debt. So Gadkari's plan needs to be discussed in more detail before implementing the same.

Unfreedom movie banned in India

The movie has two parallel stories.

1. A Muslim terrorist uses violence against a Muslim liberal. The intention here is to convert the Muslim liberal.
2. A father uses violence to force marriage unto his lesbian daughter. The father thinks that being gay/lesbian is a disease.

The message of the movie is: violence does not solve problems in the long run.

Unfortunately, the movie fails to convey an important message: violence is perfectly fine for self-defence, in fact it is the right path.
In the movie, the characters don't use violence even for self defence. They continue to suffer (like Gandhi) at the hands of their violent perpetrators.
Gandhism works only in public; in private Gandhism fails miserably. In private, violence has to be countered with violence.
Hence, the movie is only average.

Did China actually devalue its currency?

The headlines are screaming that China has devalued its currency. But let us go into details. China has devalued its curency by 0.2%. When we look at long term picture below, Indian rupee has lost nearly 50% value against Chinese currency in last 7 years.

When we look at the long term picture, China's currency has strenthened against most currencies. Currently, China is facting a stock market crash and housing bubble burst. Devaluing its currency, it a way to lessen the pain for the people. China is afraid of a revolution should so many of its citizens suffer. It is likely that China will continue to devalue its currency in coming months.

Indian government wants to ban Child Porn

Indian government wants to put in regulations on the use internet. Then they will be able to restrict access to any site. The reason given for this is "Child Pornography".

I think that this is a fake reason. Internet is self-regulated. Anyone, who has searched or seen porn on the internet, will tell you that there is no child porn on the internet. Should someone keep such a video, immediately there is hue and cry from other viewers. So the maker of that video is literally forced to take down the video.

"Banning child porn" is an excuse used by many governments including India to put in more controls. Under the guise of preventing child porn, the Indian government can now block any site. More powers to government means lesser freedom for individuals.

People should oppose Indian governments "Child Porn restriction", not because they are for child porn, but because this rule is a trick by government to usurp power at the cost of Citizen's freedom.