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Monday, December 31, 2007

The Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is the National Library of the United States. It is also the research arm of the United States Congress. It is located in Washington, D.C. It is one of the most important libraries in the world and has the largest shelf space. Its collections include more than 30 million catalogued books and other print materials in 470 languages; more than 58 million manuscripts; the largest rare book collection in North America, including a Gutenberg Bible (one of only four perfect vellum copies known to exist); over 1 million US Government publications; 1 million issues of world newspapers spanning the past three centuries; 33,000 bound newspaper volumes; 500,000 microfilm reels; over 6,000 comic book[4] titles; the world's largest collection of legal materials; films; 4.8 million maps; sheet music; and 2.7 million sound recordings. (Source : Wikipedia)

For a detailed article from Wikipeida:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Congress

The Library of Congress Website:
http://www.loc.gov/index.html

Today in History from the Library of Congress:
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/today.html

Webcasts from the Library of Congress:
http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/

Friday, December 28, 2007

Memorable Passages-5: "Practical Vedanta and the Science of Values"

"Our people never understood the Gita as a guide to practical Vedanta until now. Swami Vivekananda wants us to understand it now. The best commentary on the Upanisads you have is the Bhagavad Gita, said Swami Vivekananda.

When Vedanta becomes practical in everyday life, tremendous social transformations will take place. Human dignity, human freedom, human equality, spirit of service, capacity for efficient team work, all these will become heightened in society. This philosophy is comprehensive. All of life is taken into account.

Much of later religious ideas were one-sided, narrow, and occasionally intolerant of other faiths and religions. But this great philosophy of Vedanta, in its Advaita Vedanta form, has tremendous strength and it confers strength on others as well. It can stand scrutiny by any science, physical or other.

But such a Vedanta was confined by our people to mere books and to the worship room!
We never tried to LIVE the practical Vedanta taught by the Gita. We worship the Gita, piously recite it, and do everything else except to LIVE its teachings…..

During my extensive lecture tour of Andhra Pradesh in 1949, from Bobbili in the north to Vijayawada at the center, and then on to Hyderabad on my way to Delhi to take charge of that Ramakrishna Mission Center, I had occasion to meet General J.N.Chowdhury, Military Governor of the State, on the last day of my five-day lecture program in Hyderabad-Secunderabad in October.

He received me cordially, we were meeting for the first time, and during the first half hour, he did all the talking and I listened. Later, when I saw a copy of the Gita on his table, I asked him: ‘General Chowdhury, do you read the Gita?’

‘Oh yes,’ he said, in a casual way, ‘when I feel the need for a little peace and consolation during my heavy and responsible work!’

Immediately I said: ‘That is not the purpose of the Gita; for peace and consolation there are plenty of other books.’

In utter surprise, General Chowdhury asked me: ‘Do you think that the Gita has a message for me in my field of work as the Military Governor of this State?’

I replied straight: ‘Yes, it has; you must know it is a dialogue between two ksatriyas in a battlefield; the fourth chapter begins with the statement that this philosophy of yoga, expounded in the previous two chapters, was known to several generations of rulers and administrators, rajarsis, the text is: ‘rajarsayo viduh; but had become diluted and lost in course of centuries and was being taught by Krsna to Arjuna now.

Rajarsi means a person who combines raja (power) and rsi (spirituality) in oneself; it means that all who exercise power over others must be spiritual, not just religious in the ordinary sense of the term, by manifesting, more or less, the Divine within, by which they will use that power for the good of the people, to serve the people.

A Collector, a clerk, a police constable, a school teacher, and every other type of social functionary, all are handling some power or other, even a little spiritual growth will make them use that power to serve the people better and better.

This is the meaning of the combination of raja and rsi in one. Everyone must strive to combine in oneself the values of raja, power, and rsi, spirituality, expressing itself as service. Chinese philosophy calls it sagely within and kingly without. What a beautiful expression! All power, of ordinary or extraordinary levels, must have this touch of the spiritual which is the birthright of all, says Vedanta.

Sankaracharya, in his commentary on these verses, says that this yoga philosophy and spirituality was lost by falling into the hands of durbalan and ajitendriyan, ‘weaklings in body and will and bereft of discipline of the sensory energies’, and adds that it was taught for ‘bringing strength to the holders of power’, ksatriyanam baladhanaya, ‘endowed with which they would be able to protect and serve the people.’ "

- Swami Ranganathananda in “Practical Vedanta and the Science of Values’, pp.47-49.

“Practical Vedanta and the Science of Values” by Swami Ranganathananda, Published by Advaita Ashrama (Publication Department), 5, Dehi Entally Road, Kolkata-700014, 158 pages, Rs.30/-

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Memorable Passages-4: "A Thousand-year-old Story from India"

"… a thousand-year-old story from India.

It is about a farmer who has only one horse to pull his plow, and the horse runs away. His neighbours say, “That is terrible!”

The farmer says, “Maybe.”

The next day, he comes back with two horses. His neighbours says, “That is wonderful!”

“Maybe,” the farmer says.

His son tries to break the horses and ends up breaking his own leg. “Oh, that is horrible!”, the neighbours say.

“Maybe,” he says.

The next day, the army shows up to take all the men to war, but they can’t take his injured son. Now the neighbours say, “Oh, you are so lucky!”

What do you think his response is? Right: “Maybe.”

And the story goes on and on, as does life. If you believe in something, and it has not worked yet, maybe you are judging too soon. When you think you are in trouble, maybe you are not. Maybe it is only temporary...."

Courtesy: “Notes from a Friend : A Quick and Simple Guide to Taking Charge of Your Life” by Anthony Robbins (By the way this is a wonderful book, everybody who wants to make his life fruitful should read it without fail!)

New Books-6:

1. Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life : Living the Wisdom of Tao
by Wayne W.Dyer
Rs.395/-

2. The Guru of Jou : Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and The Art of Living
by Francois Gautier
Rs.295/-

3. Power, Freedom and Grace : Living from the Source of Lasting Happiness
by Deepak Chopra
Rs.195/-

All the above three books published by Hay House Publications (India) P Ltd, Muskaan Complex, Plot No.3, B-2, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi-110070

4. Timeless Wisdom : Spiritual Stories from Around the World
Edited by Robert Van De Weyer
Published by Jaico Publishing House, 121, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Mumbai-400001
Rs.195/-

Courtesy: "Book Review", The Hindu, Madurai, December 25, 2007

Memorable Quotes-16:

No furniture so charming as books – Sydney Smith

Memorable Quotes-15:

A good book is the precious life-blood of a master spirit – John Milton

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Publishing of 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens published his novel, 'A Christmas Carol' on this day, December 19, in 1843.

Detailed Bio of Charles Dickens:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Dickens

Charles Dickens : Biography, Life, Books and his work on Literature:
http://www.charles-dickens.ws/

Full Text of 'A Christmas Carol' from Project Gutenberg:
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/46/46-h/46-h.htm

About Charles Dickens Museum, London:
http://www.dickensmuseum.com/

For Complete Works of Charles Dickens in Project Gutenberg:
http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/d#a37

For Works of Charles Dickens in Google Books:
http://books.google.com/books?q=inauthor:charles+inauthor:dickens&as_brr=1

For Overview of publications of Dickens, Timeline,
Works by and about Dickens in WorldCat Identities:
http://orlabs.oclc.org/Identities/lccn-n78-87607

About The Riverside Dickens Festival 2008:
http://www.dickensfest.com/

Publishing of essay, 'American Crisis' by Thomas Paine

Thomas Paine published his essay, 'American Crisis' on this day, December 19, in 1776. The famous quote, "These are the times that try men's souls" finds a place in this essay.

Article on Thomas Paine from MSN Encarta:
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/refarticle.aspx?refid=761558762

Detailed Bio of Thomas Paine from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Paine

Full Text of 'Common Sense' by Thomas Paine in Project Gutenberg:
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext94/comsn10.txt

Major and Minor Works and Letters of Thomas Paine:
http://www.thomaspaine.org/contents.html

Publishing of 'Poor Richard's Almanack' by Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin started publishing his famous 'Poor Richard's Alamanck' on this day, December 19, in 1732.

Benjamin Franklin detailed bio from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin:
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext94/bfaut11.txt

http://www.earlyamerica.com/lives/franklin/

About 'Poor Richard's Almanack':
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poor_Richard%27s_Almanack

http://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2617

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

New Books-5:

1. 'Spirituality Demystified : Your Roadmap to Personal Fulfilment'
by Rajiv R.Gupta

2. 'Creative Visualization : Achieve Your Goals and Make Your Dreams Come True' by Richard Webster

Both the books published by
Jaico Publishing House, 121, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Mumbai-400001. Price: Rs.295/- each

Memorable Quotes-14:

Many books require no thought from those who read them, and for a very simple reason; they made no such demand upon those who wrote them." - Charles Caleb Colton

Courtesy: shortstories@bellaonline.com

Friday, December 14, 2007

Memorable Passages-3: "The Story of Philosophy" by Will Durant

There is a pleasure in philosophy, and a lure even in the mirages of metaphysics, which every student feels until the coarse necessities of physical existence drag him from the heights of thought into the mart of economic strife and gain. Most of us have known some golden days in the June of life when philosophy was in fact what Plato calls it, “that dear delight”; when the love of a modestly elusive Truth seemed more glorious, incomparably, than the lust for the ways of the flesh and the dross of the world. And there is always some wistful remnant in us of that early wooing of wisdom. “Life has meaning,” we feel with Browning – “to find its meaning is my meat and drink.” So much of our lives is meaningless, a self-cancelling vacillation and futility; we strive with the chaos about us and within; but we would believe all the while that there is something vital and significant in us, could we but decipher our own souls. We want to understand; “life means for us constantly to transform into light and flame all that we are or meet with” (Nietzsche, The Joyful Wisdom, pref.); we are like Mitya in The Brothers Karamazov – “one of those who don’t want millions, but an answer to their questions”; we want to seize the value and perspective of passing things, and so to pull ourselves up out of the maelstrom of daily circumstance. We want to know that the little things are little, and the big things big, before it is too late; we want to see things now as they will seem forever – “in the light of eternity.” We want to learn to laugh in the face of the inevitable, to smile even at the looming of death. We want to be whole, to coordinate our energies by criticizing and harmonizing our desires; for coordinated energy is the last word in ethics and politics, and perhaps in logic and metaphysics too.

“To be a philosopher,” said Thoreau, “is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but so to love wisdom as to live, according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust.” We may be sure that if we can but find wisdom, all things else will be added unto us. “Seek ye first the good things of the mind,” Bacon admonishes us, “and the rest will either be supplied or its loss will not be felt.” Truth will not make us rich, but it will make us free.

Excerpt from the Introduction to the book, "The Story of Philosophy" (The lives and opinions of the world's greatest philosophers from Plato to John Dewey) by Will Durant

Book Review-4 : "Ayurveda and the Mind" by Dr David Frawley

This book has been planned in four parts:

(i) Ayurvedic psychology or yogic mind-body medicine;
(ii) The energetics of consciousness;
(iii) Ayurvedic therapies for the mind;
(iv) Spiritual applications of Ayurvedic psychology: the paths of yoga.

What all these four parts discuss is ‘personality’. But ‘personality’ is a multivalent, subtle, and exotic term whose meaning has eluded some of the finest psychologists of the past. Dr.Frawley’s is an interesting, thought-provoking, and highly readable account of what the Indian system of Ayurveda has to say about ‘personality’.

That Ayurveda classifies constitutional types as vata, pitta and kapha is well known; but what this means is not often clear to the modern reader. A statement like ‘Vata governs movement and is responsible for the discharge of all impurities both voluntary and involuntary’ is crisp, clear, and readable. The same can be said about the three gunas. Not many know that sattva is intelligence and imparts balance, rajas is energy and causes imbalance, and tamas is substance and creates inertia. Dr Frawley has explained the Ayurvedic concepts and terms in the contemporary idiom – and there lies his credit.

As this book is mainly a guide to healing, it dwells at some length on etiology and treatment from the Ayurvedic viewpoint. The all-important role of ahara (diet) is well discussed. Ahara is not merely what we chew and eat but whatever we incorporate through our senses. This concept comes very near to the psychoanalytic concept of introjection/incorporation/interiorization. The book also has an interesting chapter on mantras. Mantra is a well-known word with an ill-known meaning. Anybody studying this book will get a clear idea of what mantra is and how it can affect our health, for better or for worse. Last, but not least, is Dr Frawley’s explanation of ashtanga-sadhana, the eight-fold practice of Raja Yoga. The concept of ‘meditation’ has been described with characteristic clarity.

Dr Frawley has given us another valuable book. One word of caution, though: The book discusses many ideas, and the reader has to proceed carefully and slowly. This volume needs to be read with both head and heart.

“AYURVEDA AND THE MIND” by Dr David Frawley
Published by Motilal Banarsidass, 41, U A Bungalow Road, Jawahar Nagar, Delhi-110 007. e-mail:
mlbd@vsnl.com. 2006. 346 pp. Rs.250/-
Reviewed by Professor Somnath Bhattacharyya, Former Head, Department of Psychology, Calcutta Uni9versity
Courtesy: Prabuddha Bharata, December 2007

Book Review-3 : "Consciousness: A Deeper Scientific Search"

Despite the ongoing ‘meaningful dialogue’ between spiritual scientists or experientialists and physical scientists or experimentalists all over the world, the riddle of consciousness has defied an unambiguous solution till date. It is perhaps destined to be so for the simple reason that philosophers and scientists can discuss consciousness only within the realm of duality or maya. Therefore, they have not been able to give a precise description of consciousness which not only permeates the visible universe but also transcends it. According to Vedanta, the objects of the phenomenal world are like small whirlpools in the infinite ocean of consciousness; they appear for a while only to disappear, and reappear again; and the process goes on for ever. But the problem remains: How does one consciousness appear as many?

Twenty-two renowned scientists and scholars, including representatives of the major religions of the world – Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism – have made a very bold attempt to answer this and many other related questions about the nature and location of consciousness, through their presentations and discussions at a seminar held at the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Gol Park, from 13 to 15 January 2006, the proceedings of which are presented in the book under review. This seminar is the third in the series of international seminars dealing with the theme of consciousness organized by the Institute; the earlier two being ‘Philosophy and Science: An Explanatory Approach to Consciousness’ and ‘Life, Mind and Consciousness’ held in February 2002 and January 2004 respectively6.

Prof.Samdhong Rinpoche, Chairman of the Central Tibetan Administration of the Dalai Lama, has rightly raised a doubt whether consciousness – which is completely different from matter – can at all be scientifically researched. He equates consciousness with the realization of shunyata, which is the central theme of Buddhism. His concern is shared by Prof.M.G.K.Menon, who suggests that higher levels of consciousness should be scientifically investigated to the extent possible using time-tested methods.

The book gives vivid descriptions of the personal experiences of the experientialists as well as experimental details of the experimentalists in connection with consciousness. The panel discussions that follow the presentations reveal both he questioners and the panelists at their best. At the end of the seminar the following points emerge: (i) Consciousness is all-pervasive. It is non-dual. (ii) It constitutes the foundation of all value and all knowledge. (iii) It is ineffable. It is an experience of ‘wonder’. (iv) Modern science, especially quantum mechanics and neurobiology, can provide only some useful hints about the nature and seat of consciousness. For example, when consciousness shines on the substrate – metal or plant or animal or human – the degree of reflection would vary depending on the substrate. It is least reflected in the mineral kingdom, and fully reflected in a Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. The experiments conducted by Prof.J.C.Bose, and later the well-known double-slit experiment conducted with the help of the electron gun, are also suggestive of the all-pervasive nature of consciousness.

Swami Prabhananda forces the reader to ponder over not the mysterious vastness of the universe but also the mystery of humanity.

The book is interesting, inspiring, and useful for the general reader as well.
"Consciousness: A Deeper Scientific Search" - Eds.Jonathan Shear and SP.Mukherjee
Published by Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Gol Park, Kolkata-700029. e-mail: rmic@vsnl.com. 2006. x + 538 pp. Rs.200/-
Reviewed by Dr.S.C.Goswami, Former Reader in Chemistry, Dayal Singh College, New Delhi
Courtesy: Prabuddha Bharata, December 2007

Thursday, December 6, 2007

New Books-4 :

1. Personal Excellence through the Bhagavad Gita by Swami Sukhabodhananda, Jaico Publishing House, 121, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Mumbai-400001. Rs.195/-

2. Sufism and English Literature : Chaucer to the Present Age: Echoes and Images by Masoodul Hasan, Adam Publishers & Distributors, 1542, Pataudi House, Daryaganj, New Delhi-110002. Rs.450/-.

3. Words of Nectar – Sadhana for Taming the Mind by Sadguru Sri Nanna Garu – Tr. In English by M.Sivaramakrishna, Sterling Paperbacks, an imprint of Sterling Publishers P Ltd, A-59, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-II, New Delhi-110020. Rs.300/-

Monday, December 3, 2007

Memorable Quotes-13:

You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them. - Ray Bradbury

Memorable Quotes-12:

The world is a book. Every step we take opens a new page for us - Lamartine

Memorable Quotes-11:

I would rather be a poor man in a garret with plenty of books than a king who did not love reading - Macaulay

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Books Forever - Manoj Das

About two thousand years ago there lived a Chinese Emperor, Hsi Hwang Ti. He was very angry with his subjects for a strange reason. They read a great deal and those who could not read listened to those who could. Now, Hsi Hwang Ti could not be sure that all the books written - history, philosophy and fiction - sang only his glory or that of his forefathers. And who knew there might be authors who had even dared to criticise the Emperor himself!
In any case, thought Hsi Hwang Ti, the people had no business to read and bother about things that did not concern them. They ought to work hard, be loyal and pay their taxes. Only thus could peace be maintained.
So he ordered that all books be destroyed. Books in those days were blocks of wood with words carved on them. They were not easy to hide. The Emperor's men combed the empire, going from town to town, village to village, making bonfires of all the books they could lay their hands on. That was the time when the Great Wall of China was being constructed. Many books - huge round logs - were rolled into the Wall and used instead of stones. Sometimes scholars who refused to part with their books were buried with them in the gigantic Wall!
The years passed. The Emperor died. But a few years after his death, almost all the books which were believed to have been destroyed, reappeared written on new polished blocks. Among them were the works of Confucius, the great philosopher, which are read by people all over the world to this day.
This is not the only instance of an attempt to destroy books.
When the University of Nalanda was at the height of its glory in the seventh century, Hiuen Tsang, the famous Chinese traveller and scholar who was studying there at that time, dreamt one night that the beautiful buildings of the university had disappeared and instead of teachers and pupils the place was full of buffaloes! This dream almost came true when three sections of the large library of the university were burnt down by invaders.
Once there was a great library in the ancient city of Alexandria. It contained manuscripts collected from several countries. Hundreds of people from many lands including India went to study there. But this invaluable library was deliberately burnt down in the seventh century. The invader who destroyed it argued that if the innumerable books did not say what the sacred book of his faith said, they ought not to exist and if they said what his sacred book had already said, they did not need to exist!
So, many a time books have been destroyed but the books believed to have been lost or destroyed have reappeared either in their old form or in a new form. After all, books are the product of man's wisdom, experience, knowledge, feeling, imagination and vision. So, even if books are destroyed, these qualities in men do not perish. That last words of a Danish priest of the second century, Ben Joseph Akiba, who was burnt alive along with a book of wisdom he had compiled are worth remembering here: "The paper burns, but the words fly away."
There are people who love books better than their life. They preserve the books they love at great risks. According to Indian tradition, for instance, God was so fond of books that once when there was a deluge and everything was destroyed by water, He took the form of a fish and rescued the Vedas. There are others who do not mind if their favourite book is lost for they have memorized the entire text.
In ancient times people had a remarkable knack for memorising texts. The Iliad and the Odyssey, two epics of Homer, the great Greek poet, who lived 900 years before the birth of Christ, were remembered by professional reciters generation after generation. These epics together consisted 28,000 lines. Some bards could even remember four times that length.
This gift of memory immediately brings to mind the Vedas, India's earliest books and, according to many, the world's. For a long time, the verses of the Vedas were not written down, but passed on orally from father to son or guru to disciple.
The Vedas were composed in an ancient form of Sanskrit. Although we have always had several languages in India, Sanskrit in olden times was used all over the country. Poets and scholars from every corner of India have contributed to Indian literature through the Sanskrit language.
The philosophy and sciences of ancient India reached distant lands. Along with them travelled to far-off countries beyond the Himalayas and across the wide seas many a jewel from India's grand treasury of tales - the Kathasaritsagara, the Panchatantra and the Jatakas. It is well known that many of the parables of the Bible, the fables of Aesop of Greece, the folk-tales collected by the Grimm brothers of Germany and the tales retold by Hans Anderson of Denmark had their origin in India.
India's literary past is indeed great.....
Excerpts from "Books Forever" by Manoj Das, Pub. by National Book Trust, India