Priyadarshan's Blog

Guru Purnima is Tomorrow!

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 07:19:31

Last year Guru celebrated Guru Purnima on 29 July 2007 (we have an immortal photograph by Jowan to cherish and treasure)

To celebrate in a small way this year's Guru Purnima , (happening this Friday 18 July 2008) here is a charming story regarding Vyasa, from the Mahabharata's translation by Kisari Mohan Ganguli.

Maitree Express: the train uniting hearts

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 07:03:13

Sri Chinmoy's only ambition as a child was to become a train ticket collector or an inspector like his father (Guru smilingly added: "But God didn't fulfill my desire!")

To have a train promote oneness between India and Bangladesh, what a piece of good news!

Sri Chinmoy - Like a Father

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 13:28:31

Sri Chinmoy has been infinitely more than a Father and Mother to many of us. He has been taking care of me, together with all of my spiritual brothers and sisters, like no one else ever could and ever will. A photograph of Sri Chinmoy on Father’s day 2005

Lexicon: The whole kit and kaboodle

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 10:46:57

Bishwas once taught me a very good locution: The whole kit and kaboodle

I wanted to use it today, but forgot how to spell it. So here is a short page with its etymology, just in case you need to use it as well. It is a very nice idiom!

John Keats, poet-seer lover of beauty

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 07:47:51

John Keats, poet-seer lover of beauty (external link)

Bob Dylan recites: “The Lock And The Key” by Sri Chinmoy

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 12:51:23

In a Radio show aired on 31 January 2008, Bob Dylan recites "The Lock And The Key" , one of Guru's poem published in "The Dance of Life".

Sri Chinmoy, a garlanded smile

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 05:43:07

This is one of my absolute favourite pictures of Sri Chinmoy (external link)

New Year resolutions

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 09:46:51

I must thank Savyasachi for reminding me how much Guru likes to listen to our New Year resolutions. Sri Chinmoy enjoyed it so much when his students spoke about their new resolutions (both personal and manifestation wise) at those precious Christmas Trip functions. So, here are some of my resolutions for the New Year (I know they may seem puny to some, but I rather be realistic and achieving those, than heroic and achieve little).

My resolutions for the New Year 2008 (external link)

Christmas with Guru

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 08:27:34

Christmas with Guru (external link)

our Lord Chinmoy

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 06:50:46

I finished writing this little poem, "our Lord Chinmoy" a few days ago. I started composing it on 11 November 2007, after a very vivid image came to me: a gray world, bereft of colours but blessed with deep memories, and a colour-full heaven, celebrating Guru's long awaited return.

our Lord Chinmoy (external link)

To see the Truth as soon as possible, the mystic way

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 12:59:57

To see the Truth as soon as possible, the mystic way (external link)

The Mahasamadhi Comet

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 11:11:50

The Mahasamadhi Comet (external link)

Lord Ganesh - a favourite picture

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 10:57:25

Lord Ganesh - a favourite picture (external link)

The constantly ringing aspiration-prayer

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 11:35:54

The constantly ringing aspiration-prayer (external link)

Marathon: Gebrselassie sets New World Record in Berlin

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 06:14:55

Marathon: Gebrselassie sets New World Record in Berlin (external link)

Sanatan Dharma: the eternal religion of humanity

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 09:26:37

Sanatan Dharma: the eternal religion of humanity (external link)

Sri Chinmoy's attentive thoughtfulness while offering a rose

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 13:49:17

A sweet recollection of Sri Chinmoy's thoughtfulness, by Kanan Roberts (external link)

A song immortal by Sri Chinmoy

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 11:36:22

A song immortal by Sri Chinmoy (external link)

Happy Birthday

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 05:00:22

Happy Birthday (external link)

The Best Pizza in the World

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 05:47:30

The Legend of Neapolitan Pizza, and how I was part of it (external link)

Concentration exercises: The Dot

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 13:37:47

The Dot is a classic Yoga exercise to improve the power of concentration. There are quite a few variants around, but Sri Chinmoy words are by far the best. Here it is. (external link)

A magnificent song by our dear friend Parichayaka

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 09:46:33

A magnificent song by our dear friend Parichayaka. Beginnings -- by Parichayaka Hammerl (external link).

To Cultivate A Diamond Heart

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 07:02:08

A most beautiful aphorism, at Priyadarshan 's site.

Mauna - Silence

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 14:12:55

Mauna is present in many of Sri Chinmoy songs.

At Priyadarshan 's site.

On Sri Chinmoy's splendid use of nominal compounds - tatpuruṣa

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 12:16:07

Sri Chinmoy's use of compounds -- the wonderful way he conveys new and richer meaning from the union of two, three, four, even five words -- possibly derives from the Sanskrit use of the nominal compound called tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष).

Read at Priyadarshan 's site.

Jellyfish concentration, by Beverly

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 03:49:46

I found the following post by Beverly, at the Sri Chinmoy Inspiration Group very inspiring. I am reposting it here, as "Inspiration-Group Gem".

One-pointed concentration
Is the pathfinder
For a deeper meditative
Consciousness.

Sri Chinmoy
http://www.srichinmoylibrary.com/sri-chinmoy-service-trees/part16/241.html


"There are three stages in our spiritual practice. It starts with
concentration, then meditation, then contemplation." - Sri Chinmoy
http://www.srichinmoylibrary.com/earth-cry/part1/51.html

The talk that this quotation had been taken from is also available on
the online Sri Chinmoy TV:
http://www.srichinmoy.tv/meditation_videos/what_is_meditation


A while back Doris asked me to post something about my son. This
incident took place some time ago. It concerns concentration.

I had been trying to teach my son how to concentrate.

Yesterday we went for a walk to a float on the ocean. I stood at the
edge and observed some small jelly fish but he REALLY looked. He lay
down and draped himself over the edge and peered into the dark water.
A little ball jelly fish was the focus of his absorption. To picture
this jellyfish Imagine an inflatable beach ball (an analogy offered by
my son). The ball bulges out between the longitudinal segments,
making a scalloped profile if viewed from the 'north pole'. Now
imagine the ball is almost transparent, a little milky and no more
than two centimeters in diameter, with tentacles of almost
indiscernible slenderness trailing from the 'south pole'. "It's
emitting light", he exclaimed. So I, too, knelt and we concentrated
on this tiny wondrous piece of creation. Sure enough, a minute or so
of patient watching revealed a flash of blue which traveled up along
one of the lines. But purple, that I had not seen. My son had. Not
so easy to detect in summer sunshine. Finally I let go of my
restlessness, quieted myself and concentrated, patiently,
patiently,... and finally witnessed a fleeting glimpse of subtle
purplish-blue traversing a globe suspended in a watery world.
Joy shared.

I had been trying to teach my son how to concentrate.

Beverly

Thank-you Beverly!

Innocent fun with Sumo - Atmasamarpan, Dhyani, where are you?

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 09:49:45

Here I was, all by myself, in peace and quiet, eying my lunch, when this big sumo guy comes at me, trying to steal my lunch box!

This is what happened.

Goodies use Macs, baddies use PCs (or not?)

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 02:30:49

"Studies have shown that Hollywood has a tendency to make its baddies use PCs, and its heroes use Macs. Fact. That's why Jack Bauer and his CTU colleagues on 24 solve major terrorist threats using machines built for OS X. And when Jeff Goldblum wanted to infect the Independence Day mothership with a virus to save the world from destruction, what did he use? A PowerBook 5300. Except, of course, you won't find a virus on a Mac."

That is funny, coming from PC Pro, a PC-centered magazine.

But wouldn't you say what really counts is who uses a machine, not which machine is used?

Useful Firefox on the Sri Chinmoy Inspiration Group

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 03:45:55

Don't miss Sharani's new post on the Sri Chinmoy Inspiration group,

"How to read this group without ads across the top of the screen"

Very nice, complete and useful. Thank you Sharani!

Update: She has now published an even more comprehensive article.

Petrolini, mythical Italian actor, and how I tried in China to imitate his gag.

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 04:15:51

Petrolini could definitely be defined as Italian national treasure.

Petrolini, Ettore
born Jan. 13, 1886, Rome, Italy
died June 29, 1936, Rome

Italian theatrical actor and author, creator of numerous
caricature sketches,  and inventor of a revolutionary and
anticonformist way of performing.

Petrolini was the son of a blacksmith, and he did not receive
training in the  theatre. As an adolescent he discovered his
innate gift for acting and made his  professional debut at
age 15. In cafés, dance halls, and barns throughout  Italy,
he worked primarily as a macchiettista (caricaturist),
lampooning stock  Italian types and domestic situations in
one-man vignettes. Petrolini's  engaging personality and his
talent for vocal mimicry endeared provincial  audiences, used
to broad jokes and double entendres, to his brand of
lighthearted nonsense. By age 20 he was well known throughout
Italy.

He attained some international fame during the 1900s and
1910s as a result of  successful tours of South America and
well-received performances in New York  City and Paris. In
1912 he created his own theatrical company, which he
christened the Ettore Petrolini Company in the 1920s. He used
this vehicle to  debut his sketches until the late '20s, when
he devoted more attention to  full-length prose plays. His
company staged several major works of contemporary  theatre,
and in 1930 Petrolini's own comedy Benedetto fra le donne
(“Blessed  Among Women”) was produced at the Drama Lover's
Theatre in Milan.

Having become famous throughout Europe, Petrolini completed
several  international tours in the 1930s. He also acted in
many silent and sound films.  Of these, it is Nerone (1930;
“Nero”), an anthology of his best-developed
characterizations, that best captures Petrolini's range and
engaging  personality. In addition, he wrote several books,
including an autobiography,  Abbasso Petrolini (1922; “Down
with Petrolini”), and a collection of  miscellaneous
writings, Al mio pubblico (1937; “To My Public”), published
posthumously.

"Petrolini, Ettore ." Encyclopædia Britannica.
Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2007.

Here is a memorable gag. Even if the dialogue is in Italian, you can still enjoy the humour of the feedback between the emperor thanking one listener in the audience saying "Bravo!" At the end, the roles are exchanged.

I tried to imitate that gag in China. Prachar was the voice from the audience. Prachar, do you remember it? Ah, the good old times!

Saying "Oh no!" in English Proper

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 12:21:53

Why interlocute with a simple "Oh no!", like:

"Did you bring the eggs with you today?"

"Oh no, I forgot them on the tramway again!"

When you could verily say:

"It is impossible to express
within the constraints of
the English lexicon the
longitude, fathomage,
latitude and stature of my
dismay."

Sri Chinmoy answer to Unmilan's "Why?" A blessingful trip on the Saigon River.

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 09:30:25

I am so grateful Doris brought up the question of questions: "Why?" on the Sri Chinmoy Inspiration Group and Prachar remembered, thanks to Sarah's inspiration, when and where Sri Chinmoy answered it. I was incredibly fortunate to be there myself, on that unforgettable boat trip on the Saigon River. A most special, blessingful memory for me.

Sri Chinmoy answered in his own inimitable way to a few questions, among which, one by Unmilan: "Why?" An excerpt:

"The Highest needs our appreciation, admiration, adoration and love. Or we can say that it needs our oneness-willingness — our oneness with its Will and our willingness to see that it is always satisfied in and through us and able to manifest its own Divinity in and through us."

Read the whole answer to Unmilan's Why?

Thank you, Doris, Sarah, and Prachar.

A useful tip for faster and safer browsing using AdBlock for Firefox

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 04:59:49

If you are using the AdBlock extension for Firefox , here is a useful tip.

Nowadays many websites log all the visits they receive with a powerful, free service offered by Google, called Google Analytics.

The end user suffers two annoying side-effects from this:

The page under surveillance by Google becomes slower to be displayed on your browser. Sometimes this extra delay is just one second, sometimes much longer.
Since Google has full access to all the data collected, Google can have a pretty clear idea of what a visitor has been doing all along on those sites, and infer many things, like likes/dislikes, political ideas, etc.

If you do not use any of Google services (like Gmail, Google Groups etc) that data will still be anonymous, even if quite accurate in locating the geographical area where you live. But if you have been using services like Google Checkout, then Google will be able to connect those logs to your street address, credit card data, phone number, etc.

I am not implying Google will ever use all that data for bad deeds. Still, Google is a money-driven corporate giant.

AdBlock Plus can easily defend you from slower loading pages and worrisome privacy concerns.

Copy this tidbit of text: ".google-analytics." including the two dots and excluding the quote marks.
Open the AdBlock Plus preferences (you can find this option under Firefox "Tools" menu.)
Click on the button "Add filter...", in the lower left corner of the AdBlock dialog window, paste the text you copied at step 1, and click on the "OK" button.

From now on, no matter where you go, AdBlock will prevent the visited page to log your visit on Google Analytics, making your browsing faster and hopefully safer.

The Gentleman's Sport, Etiquette, 2007 and a Map

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 08:31:37

As they say in the U.K, Football is a gentlemen's game played by hooligans. Rugby is a hooligan's game played by gentlemen.

"Contrary to many American sports, etiquette is a large part of the game of Rugby.

The referee's judgment is never questioned. Under the showboating rule, the referee can penalize pompous celebrations after a try by revoking the score. As Mr. Sung says, "You don't really want to showboat anyway, because if you do, then everyone is looking to hit you really hard." The honor of rugby and mutual respect between teams is upheld regardless of how rough a game may be.

In rugby, fifteen players on each team battle to score a try, which is accomplished by crossing into the goal area and touching the ball to the ground. A try is worth five points and the ensuing kicked conversion is worth two.

All players are allowed to run with the ball and tackle. A player can kick the ball forward at any time, but can only pass backward. Teammates are not allowed to block for the ball carrier but follow closely behind him. When tackled, the ball carrier must release the ball immediately, and another player then picks up the ball to advance it. The action rarely stops.

The exact origins of rugby are debated, but many believe that the game was born in 1823 when students at the Rugby School in Warwickshire started playing a distinctly different version of soccer. Legend has it that one William Webb Ellis picked up the ball and, with complete disregard for the rules, ran it into the goal. Rugby became an Olympic sport in 1900 and was last played at the 1924 Games in Paris, when the United States beat France 17-13 for the gold medal. Shortly after the Paris Games, the IOC cancelled rugby as an Olympic sport because of its violence, even though rugby sold more tickets than the same track and field events later glorified in the movie Chariots of Fire. The Rugby World Cup, played every four years, was created in 1987, and the sport's popularity has grown dramatically since then. Some 3-billion people watched the World Cup on television in 2003."

A new look for Priyadarshan's blog

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Thu, 31 May 2007 12:30:57

I applied some of the tricks found in the wonderful vsCore manual written by Shane Magee about the amazing work done by Dhyani Lassig

You can find it at Vasudeva Server vsCore home.

You can see the results at Priyadarshan's blog

No personal toolbar
No top banner
No tabs
Custom HTML at the foot of the page.

Sri Chinmoy, Balzac, Keats, Coleridge and readership.

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Thu, 31 May 2007 09:15:01

Yesterday I posted the introduction to "Kubla Khan" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. What an interesting text that is.

The problem was that I mistakenly reported it was written by Keats. The fact that nobody told me -- how respectful the very numerous readership of this blog is -- did not stop me from waking up late at night with cold sweats, screaming "Oh no, not Keats!"

Anyway, I am grateful I did that mistake, because:

It made me investigate how to do strikeout characters with RestructuredText. Now not only I know how to do ~~strikeouts~~ , but also underlines , and basically any kind of typographical extravaganza with RestructuredText;
It is a very good excuse to write a new entry for my blog;
It gives me the opportunity to tell you why I did that mistake.

So, yesterday I was reading Sri Chinmoy's comments on Balzac. Balzac was a genius, working sleeplessly, sometimes sleeping less than 2 hours a day. Very inspiring.

I browsed a little more the Library, and stumbled on Milton then Keats and finally Coleridge.

The fact is that, for some reason, the opening line A thing of beauty is a joy for ever of Keats' Endymion got stuck in my mind.

When I turned to Kubla Khan I was so impressed by its introduction that I decided to reproduce it on my post, but alas, Keats was still on my mind.

And from there, as they say, the rest is history.

A person from Porlock

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Wed, 30 May 2007 10:45:30

~~Keats's~~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge's introduction to his poem Kubla Khan.

"In the summer of the year 1797, the Author, then in ill
health, had retired to a lonely farm-house between Porlock
and Linton, on the Exmoor confines of Somerset and
Devonshire. In consequence of a slight indisposition, an
anodyne had been prescribed, from the effects of which he
fell asleep in his chair at the moment that he was reading
the following sentence, or words of the same substance, in
Purchas's Pilgrimage: "Here the Khan Kubla commanded a palace
to be built, and a stately garden thereunto. And thus ten
miles of fertile ground were inclosed with a wall." The
Author continued for about three hours in a profound sleep,
at least of the external senses, during which time he has the
most vivid confidence, that he could not have composed less
than from two to three hundred lines; if that indeed can be
called composition in which all the images rose up before him
as things, with a parallel production of the correspondent
expressions, without any sensation or consciousness of
effort. On awakening he appeared to himself to have a
distinct recollection of the whole, and taking his pen, ink,
and paper, instantly and eagerly wrote down the lines that
are here preserved. At this moment he was unfortunately
called out by a person on business from Porlock, and detained
by him above an hour, and on his return to his room, found,
to his no small surprise and mortification, that though he
still retained some vague and dim recollection of the general
purport of the vision, yet, with the exception of some eight
or ten scattered lines and images, all the rest had passed
away like the images on the surface of a stream into which a
stone has been cast, but, alas! without the after restoration
of the latter!"

Funny signs in Great Britain

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Wed, 30 May 2007 02:37:07

There is a tiny hamlet in North Yorkshire, England, called Bedlam. At the edge of the village is a sign saying, "Welcome to Bedlam."

Notice in a field: The farmer allows walkers to cross the field for free, but the bull charges.

In an office: Would the person who took the step ladder yesterday kindly bring it back or further steps will be taken.

In another office: After the tea break, staff should empty the teapot and stand upside down on the draining board.

Outside a second-hand shop: We exchange anything - bicycles, washing machines etc. Why not bring your wife along and get a wonderful bargain.

Quicksand warning: Quicksand. Any person passing this point will be drowned. By order of the District Council.

Seen during a conference: For anyone who has children and doesn't know it, there is a day care on the first floor.

In a London department store: Bargain basement upstairs.

Notice in a dry cleaner's window: Anyone leaving their garments here for more than 30 days will be disposed of.

Message on a leaflet: If you cannot read, this leaflet will tell you how to get lessons.

On a repair shop door: We can repair anything. (Please knock hard on the door - the bell doesn't work)

On a church door: This is the gate of Heaven. Enter ye all by this door. (This door is kept locked because of the draft. Please use side entrance.)

Spotted in a safari park: Elephants please stay in your car

Must-have: Adblock Plus (Firefox)

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Mon, 28 May 2007 10:41:23

If you use your browser a lot, you must admit ads are really annoying, especially when you read pages hosted on money-driven sites, like Yahoo.

With Adblock Plus, an extension for Firefox, all those banner and distasteful advertisement will magically disappear.

Make sure you also install the Element Hiding Helper just in case you want to create new hiding rules in an easier way. But don't worry: Adblock Plus is already able to stop many, many kinds of ads as is.

Read the posts at our beloved Sri Chinmoy Inspiration Group with it. What a difference!

Highly recommended.

Must-have: del.icio.us Bookmarks (Firefox extension)

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Mon, 28 May 2007 02:14:43

I would like to list here some of the tools I found useful.

The first one is a bookmark manager.

If you need to navigate the net a lot, there is one thing that is essential: memory -- remembering where you have found something.

Bookmarks help keep a list of resources that may be possibly useful in the future. I use a centralised bookmarking application, called Del.icio.us

In this way you do not spread out bookmarks among different computers and browsers. You can access them anywhere you are, from any machine.

Here are Priyadarshan's bookmarks

To make things even easier, use this Firefox extension for del.icio.us

Recommended.

A superb post by Chidananda.

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sun, 27 May 2007 11:40:09

Please don't run, fly, to read Chidananda's latest post: SPIRITUAL ODYSSEY THROUGH MONGOLIA

IG Gems: The Great Pizza Wars - Pradhan

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sat, 26 May 2007 09:11:26

I would like to republish here some of the gems you can find at the Sri Chinmoy Inspiration Group

I would like to start with this post by my dear friend Pradhan.

---

The dialog about what foods Sri Chinmoy likes best inspired me to post this series of stories, collectively called "The Great Pizza Wars" They contain a bit of history and a lot of fun. I hope you enjoy...

The Great Pizza Wars (dedicated to my dearest friend Sunil)

The precise manner in which the Great Pizza Wars began, I can not exactly say. I can only say that these wars have been bloody and have lasted for years and Sri Chinmoy has found himself in the middle of them. The wars began shortly after my becoming a student in 1971 in New York. I had one year of school left at Northwestern University. It was then, for the first time, I had the experience of Chicago deep pan pizza. Now I must confess that up until this point, like my New York brethren, I was completely unliberated with regards to pizza. You see, New Yorkers are extremely attached to their pizza and anything that is a departure from New York pizza simply isn’t pizza. Somehow, “Sicilian style” has successfully made its way into the New York pizza culture, but this is an aberration of sorts.

Let the world know that Chicago has the highest consumption of pizza per capita in the world. (Please note, this is a statistic which has Priyadarshan is shock! He claims, “Apparently your world does not include Italy!”) In Chicago, there are 3 styles of pizza…thin crust, deep dish or “pan” and finally stuffed pizza. New York pizza would be considered a variety of thin crust. Deep dish is the signature pizza of Chicago. Sicilian pizza might be compared to deep dish, but it is a pathetic imitation. Stuffed pizza stands on its own. Stuffed pizza is about 1.5-2 inches thick. There is a bottom crust, then filling including cheese, then a top crust over which the sauce and fresh tomatoes and herbs are placed.

My favorite is deep dish although I confess that as I’ve gotten older, I’ve rediscovered the lightness of thin crust. I also went through my stuffed pizza phase. Let me also say that I love New York pizza. But I unequivocally stand by my assertion that if forced to choose one, Chicago deep dish pizza is far, far superior to New York pizza.

And so the wars began.

“What, no pizza?”

Upon returning to New York after completion of my schooling in Chicago, somehow the word went around that I preferred Chicago pizza to New York pizza. Apparently this was a source of consternation to many New Yorkers. My suspicion is that it actually struck at the heart of their faith. And somehow, someway this whole debate made it to Sri Chinmoy. It was perhaps in 1982 or so when I was in New York for my birthday, I arranged to provide Dunken Donuts for Prasad. Out of the blue, Sri Chinmoy said, “What, you could not bring pizza?” So be it.

That night I had 13 stuffed pizzas flown in from Chicago. The function went extra late in anticipation of the event. The pizza arrived, was reheated at Annam Brahma and served to mixed reviews. “It’s good, but it’s not pizza!” came the cries. Some liked it, some didn’t. Some secretly came to tell me they liked it much better, but they were afraid, very afraid. Sri Chinmoy was publicly non-committal but privately he told me he liked it better. I suspect privately he told the New Yorker’s he liked theirs better.

Ever since then, I have been forever linked with pizza and in fact pizza has played a large and fun role in many interesting experiences.

Rinnovazione, or Newness

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 15:26:47

After the fortunate discovery of the Italian word for soulful, today I struck luck again in finding a good word for newness. Newness is an indispensable quality on one's path and always had a tremendous importance in my life.

The year 1993 is related in a special way to the quality of Newness.

1993

New Year Message

God is dreaming,
Newness singing,
Oneness blossoming,
Fulness dancing.

Hope no more gropes.

Life without slopes.

Splendid depths and heights
Transform bondage-nights. [1]

Regarding newness, Sri Chinmoy also said:

"[...] it is only with newness, newness at every moment in life, that you can succeed and transcend yourself. If you always have the hope of newness in thought and in action, then only you can transcend." [2]

The perfect Italian counterpart for newness is rinnovazione.

Rinnovazióne, sf.
Rinnovamento piú o meno radicale, rinascita, palingenesi del mondo.

- Trasformazione profonda dell'animo, dell'esistenza,
  che ridá loro forza, vigore, nuova luce spirituale.

- La ripresa di vigore spirituale, voglia di vivere,
  capacitá di sentire fortemente; trasformarsi a fondo nell'animo,
  abbandonando vecchie abitudini o pensieri, o modi di vita
  per altri spiritualmente piú elevati. [3]

Rinnovazione's meaning is based on the word rinnovamento, which is another good Italian word for newness, albeit, in my opinion, not as good as the first.

Interestingly, the two words differ slightly in meaning as well as in gender -- from the grammar point of view, rinnovamento is masculine, rinnovazione is feminine.

---

[1]	Sri Chinmoy, New Year's Messages [book on-line] (New York: Agni Press, 1994, accessed 11 March 2007), 27:263-270; available from Sri Chinmoy Library, http://www.srichinmoylibrary.com/new-year-messages/27.html; Internet.

[2]	Sri Chinmoy, Inner Progress And Satisfaction-Life [book on-line] (New York: Agni Press, 1977, accessed 11 March 2007), 2:22; available from Sri Chinmoy Library, http://www.srichinmoylibrary.com/inner-progress/2.html; Internet.

[3]	Salvatore Battaglia, Grande Dizionario della Lingua Italiana Vol. XVI (Torino: UTET, 1990), 568.

The last virus of the season

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 14:58:30

For the past few days I was enjoying a nice fever. It seems the last virus of the season, before leaving for other shores, decided to pay a visit.

I did enjoy watching "March of the Penguins", though.

Babar's concern for the merchant - a play

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 14:46:55

BABAR'S CONCERN FOR THE MERCHANT

Based on a Story by Sri Chinmoy - http://www.srichinmoylibrary.com/moghul-emperors/7.html

CAST (in order of appearance)

PRIYADARSHAN: Shamballa the merchant
PATAKA: Messenger
DAMAL: Babar the Great
ATMASAMARPAN: relative of the merchant
SAVYASACHI: relative of the merchant, Cossack dancer
SANDESH: relative of the merchant
RUSSIAN SINGERS: Other merchant's relatives

COSTUMES

All actors wear white trousers, a coloured t-shirt or polo shirt and a hat.

ENTER STAGE

[All actors are on the back of the stage, except the merchant who has a cloth on his mouth, to cover him from the wind and rain. Audio of wind and thunder.]

MERCHANT come to the from of stage:

"I hold the world but as the world, Gratiano,-
A stage, where every man must play a part;
And mine a sad one." [From the Merchant of Venice]

"O God, what a terrible storm. My caravan is carrying all these precious goods to the grand city of Aryavartha, but is storm is going to kill all of us! Alas, who is going to take responsibility for all my wares?"

[Last big thunder. Merchant fall on the floor, and exit.]

[BABAR comes to front of stage. MESSENGER comes with a quick pace to him and salutes]

MESSENGER: "O great Babar, a tremendous storm has raged over the mountains near Aryavartha. Shamballa, the famous merchant, got killed. His people and his caravan destroyed."

[Babar show great distress at hearing the sad news]

BABAR: "O God, what a terrible disgrace. I am ordering my soldiers to collect all the goods of Shamballa. Keep them in a safe place. Send a message to Shamballa's relatives, to come to me at once."

[MESSENGER exit]

[RELATIVES enter front of stage. They bow to Babar.]

RELATIVE: " O great Babar, we are so overwhelmed by your concern and kindness. You have restored all Shamablla's goods to us. Please let's us offer you a most expensive gift, as sign of our gratitude."

BABAR: "No, no, I cannot accept it. I will not accept it."

RELATIVE: "O please, great Babar, at least take some reimbursement for all your trouble."

BABAR: "No, I cannot do that. You have lost your dearest one. Now I cannot take advantage of his death. His wealth and property belong to you; it is you who deserve it."

RELATIVE: "At least, let us show our gratitude by singing a song, and dancing a dance."

[SAVYASACHI, his arms held by ATMASAMARPAN and DAMAL, start dancing a Cossack dance, while all relatives sing "Kalinka".]

EXIT STAGE

PS: To be performed on 2 January 2007, which is a Tuesday.

END.

Happy, Happy New Year to All!

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 12:44:48

May the beauty of the New Year
Beautify my heart.
May the purity of the New Year
Purify my mind.
May the simplicity of the New Year
Simplify my vital.
May the intensity of the New Year
Intensify my body.
May the responsibility of the New Year
Glorify my life.
May only the divinity of the New Year
Fully satisfy me.

Sri Chinmoy

2007 is going to be celebrated in about one hour here were we are staying. Sandesh pointed out how the digits 2-0-0-7 can give "27" and "13". Let us pray this New Year will bring momentous dreams, hopes and promises to all of us.

Happy, Happy New Year to All!

Plenilune, a desuetude word... or not?

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 12:34:15

Plenilune: The full moon or the time of a full moon.

Michael Quinion, in his latest "World Wide Words" newsletter says that the word "plenilune" has fallen into desuetude.

"...

In a letter to his aunt in 1961, J R R Tolkien wrote of this word that it was beautiful even before it was understood, that he wished he could have the pleasure of meeting it for the first time again, and that "Surely the first meeting should be in a living context, and not in a dictionary."

Tolkien employed it in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, published in 1962:

"Of crystal was his habergeon,
his scabbard of chalcedony;
with silver tipped at plenilune
his spear was hewn of ebony."

[Habergeon: A sleeveless coat or jacket of mail or scale armour.]

A rare recent sighting is in William Weaver's translation of Umberto Eco's Island of the Day Before (1995): "You can see ... when recur the Sundays and the Epacts, and the Solar Circle, and the Moveable and Paschal Feasts, and novilunes and plenilunes, quadratures of the sun and moon."

..."

The Italian word for "plenilune" is plenilunio. I have most beautiful memories of plenilunes, and I hope this word will never disappear from our dictionaries.

By the way, I also like very much the word desuetude. In Italian we have quite a few parole desuete which enchant and enrich the reader's heart and ear.

About Bach's Mass in B minor

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 11:29:17

Today Prachar offered to Mridanga and myself and inspired talk about Bach's Mass in B minor.

I was so inspired that I went looking for some more comments on this masterpiece, from Prachar and many others regarded to be one of the supreme achievements of classical music.

I found this commentary, which is quite interesting: Bach's Mass in B Minor as Musical Icon

Hopefully Prachar will offer more about it on his blog.

Soulful in Italy

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 12:58:46

I feel soulfulness is such an important quality on our Path.

I am so happy today because I finally discovered the definite Italian word for "soulful".

I do not think the meaning for "soulful" could be represented any better that the Italian "profondo", as described in one of the main Italian dictionaries, il Vocabolario della Lingua Italiana Devoto-Oli (2007 edition):

Profondo <pro-fón-do> agg.
3. fig. Spostandosi dall’ambito delle percezioni e
delle sensazioni verso quello dell’interiorità, quel senso di
totalità, completezza, assolutezza, già consacrato da molte
espressioni (sonno p.; un p. silenzio), si complica di accezioni
allusive all’intimità e intensità (un p. sentimento religioso),
alla capacità di applicazione o di penetrazione (meditazioni p.),
alla validità a tutta prova (una p. verità).

I am so fortunate to be able to speak fluent Italian. One day I will try to share more about it.

The song of the Nightingale

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 09:46:21

I love birds. Since I was a child I always had a very special feeling in my heart for any aviary being. I will never forget the deep emotion of love, beauty, sacrifice and tenderness I felt the first time I attended an exhibition of Sri Chinmoy's soul-birds.

While searching for sound samples with a proper license to use for some of our Radio programs, I discovered this beautiful recording of a Nightingale's song:

http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=17185

The web site at http://freesound.iua.upf.edu is filled with other beautiful sounds. For example, listen to this bowl struck:

http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=2166

Highly recommended!

My Technorati Profile

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 14:47:02

My Technorati Profile

SLAVE AND MASTER

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 10:14:25

SLAVE AND MASTER

Who is the slave?
Who is the master?
Ah, you don't know?

Just learn it from me
Once and for all:

The slave is the one
Who sincerely feels he is a slave;

The master is the one
Who foolishly thinks he is a master.

Sri Chinmoy

http://www.srichinmoylibrary.com/sri-chinmoy-wings-light/part12/18.html

FOR YOU

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 12:47:03

FOR YOU

O Lord Supreme:
For You I see,
For You I feel,
For You I give,
For You I receive,
For You I can,
For You I become,
For You I am.

--Sri Chinmoy

http://www.srichinmoylibrary.com/sri-chinmoy-wings-light/part12/13.html

(once again, thank-you to "predrag_of_the_heart" of the Sri Chinmoy Inspiration Group)

Wired For Books...

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 17:25:25

"For many years, most of the best writers of the English language found their way to Don Swaim's CBS Radio studio in New York. The one-on-one interviews typically lasted 30 to 45 minutes and then had to be edited down to a two-minute radio show. Wired for Books is proud to make these important oral documents publicly available for the first time in their entirety."

There you can listen to the voices of many of the great English writers of the twentieth century.

http://wiredforbooks.org/

A good quote by Isaac Asimov: "I aim for clarity."

Atmasamarpan has a web-diary!

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 13:21:48

Oh boy! Atmasamarpan has a web diary!

Oh boy, oh boy! Atmasamarpan posted a post!

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! And I am the first to comment on it!

Now anything could happen. :)

Thank you Atmasamarpan.

Using Pingomatic.com after every blog entry

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 20:50:38

After every time I post an entry to my web-diary (a much nicer name used by the New York Times for "blogs"), I always click on a bookmark on my browser bar:

http://tinyurl.com/eguwb

So that the new entry on my web-diary will be automatically submitted to the major search engines specialised on blogs.

You can create such a bookmark for your own blog too!

Go to http://pingomatic.com and fill up the first three fields with the data for our own blog.
After you submit the form the first time you'll be presented with a second page. Just bookmark that page, and very time you publish a post, just click on it.
The third field is the link available on the home page of your blog via the tiny blue button labeled "rss", in the form http://www.srichinmoycentre.org/Members/[name]/blog/easyblog_rss

example: http://www.srichinmoycentre.org/Members/priyadarshan/blog/easyblog_rss

I Stand Still

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 20:39:18

I STAND STILL

The whole world moves on,
But I stand still.

The whole sky descends,
But I stand still.

The whole earth aspires,
But I stand still.

With my outer stillness,
I see the Feet of God.

With my inner stillness,
I become the Heart of God.

--Sri Chinmoy

http://www.srichinmoylibrary.com/sri-chinmoy-wings-light/part11/48.html

Still It Is Not Too Late

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 19:11:37

Another beautiful prayer-poem by Sri Chinmoy

STILL IT IS NOT TOO LATE

O heart, my heart,
Do not cry.
Still it is not
Too late to heal.

O mind, my mind,
Do not cry.
Still it is not
Too late to expand.

O vital, my vital,
Do not cry.
Still it is not
Too late to surrender.

O body, my body,
Do not cry.
Still it is not
Too late to start.

--Sri Chinmoy

http://www.srichinmoylibrary.com/sri-chinmoy-wings-light/part11/47.html

Sri Chinmoy, on Difficulties

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 22:41:00

On Problems And Difficulties

We agonise ourselves in trying to make a problem vanish. God laughs
at us. But as soon as we accept a difficulty as inevitable, ordained
by Him, it slowly melts away until the day comes when we wonder where
it has disappeared.

As soon as you have conquered a difficulty, you will find that it
repeats itself on a higher and subtler level. It is the same essential
weakness in yourself which you are made to face in a more refined form.

A problem exists only in our own consciousness. The same external
situation becomes a problem for me but not for you. Why? Because it
disturbs some element of my inner harmony, while yours is left untouched.

There is no other way to spiritual success than to sit at the feet of
Patience, trusting to her lords, Time and Progress.

Adversity makes you dynamic. Adversity forces your eyes wide open.
Adversity teaches you the meaning of patience. Adversity endows you
with faith in yourself. Adversity opens the secret door through which
you can see the ultimate future fulfilment of God's Will.

Is there any way left for man to be free? Certainly there is. The
moment he feels his mind to be a thought of God, he can be at large
like a bird in the sky; his life, however fleeting, is a breath of his
Inner Pilot.

Aspiration can be raised to meet the Peace above; but Peace must be
brought down to remove one's difficulties.

Are you casting about for true happiness in life? If so, yield not to
reason, yield not to fate, but yield only to the dictates of your
inner Voice.

Difficulty is often fed by its master, Distrust. What is the function
of Distrust? Its function is to interfere with the action of the
Divine Grace.

An absolute surrender to the Divine is the only strength that can
help an aspirant to wrestle with all the outer and inner problems of
life.  As our very existence depends on God alone, we must be
independent of the values of others, the opinions of others, the
demands of others.

Today properly guarded can easily escape tomorrow's snare. It can
even nullify yesterday's stumbles.

To think that pain is a well-deserved punishment is wrong. To think
that pain is an unavoidable heritage of karma is worse. To think that
pain can never be surmounted is worst of all. Pain is a momentary
experience of one's limited self before it enters into the sea of Bliss.

Question: When we find ourselves encountering difficulties in
the spiritual life, is the best thing just to surrender to God's Will
and leave it all up to Him?

Sri Chinmoy: It entirely depends on your own spiritual height, your
own achievement. There are two types of seekers. One seeker is very
idle, extremely idle. He has heard the idea of surrender to God's
Will, so he will not lift a finger. "Let me surrender everything to
God's Will and not do anything," he says. The other seeker will pray,
meditate and devote his life dynamically to God. "I am offering the
result of my aspiration to God," he says.

If one is sincere and really aspiring, he prays and meditates in a
divine way, according to his capacity. He does what he can, and at the
same time he watches all the situations, calamities and forces around
him. He says, "I have done my part. Now it is up to God to free me
from these undivine forces or unpleasant experiences." This is the
best attitude. If we can go deep within every day during our
meditation, we will become the observer, the witness, Purusha. But if
we cannot go deep within every day in our meditation, the next best
thing is to act like a hero. It is a kind of heroism when we offer the
results of our actions to God. The result may take the form of defeat.
But if we can gladly offer the result to God, we are a divine hero.

Unfortunately, most of us do not do that. We try a little, but when
we see an enormous elephant in front of us, we give up. "It is simply
useless," we say. And sometimes we blame God. Since we are
encountering so many difficulties now that we have entered into the
spiritual life, we think it would be better to return to the ordinary
life. But at this point we are making a serious mistake. When we go
deep within, we will realise that the difficulties we now are
encountering did exist before. But at that time ignorance knew that we
were absolutely at its mercy. Ignorance was our lord. We were fast
asleep in the ignorance-room, so ignorance did not take the trouble to
bother us much. Now that we are trying to come out of the sea of
ignorance, ignorance is trying to pull us back. "Where are you going?"
it demands. "You have to stay with me!" When we are conscious of the
struggle, we are on our way out of the ignorance-room. The
difficulties were there inside, but at that time we were totally
unconscious of them. Now we are aware of them.

So if you can go deep within, please ask God to take care of you. Let
your aspiration go high, higher, highest. But if you don't feel that
you have very free access to God's Will, the best thing is to fight
ignorance on the physical plane with your own eagerness and capacity.
When wrong forces disturb you, you have to fight. If you surrender,
many more wrong forces will attack you.

--Sri Chinmoy

UNIVERSALITY

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 22:39:05

UNIVERSALITY

Sound is the universality
Of the created universe.

Silence is the universality
Of the unborn universe.

Love is the universality
Of the progressive universe.

Delight is the universality
Of the deathless universe.

--Sri Chinmoy

http://www.srichinmoylibrary.com/sri-chinmoy-wings-light/part11/44.html

TRANSCENDENCE

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 20:39:37

I am always in awe by the quotes that "predrag_of_the_heart" offers from Sri Chinmoy's Poetry and Prayers on our Inspiration-Group. I am going to write the ones that particularly strike me here, on my blog, so that I will be able to come back and read them easily in time of need...

Here is the first one, from today's front page of Sri Chinmoy's Inspiration-Group

TRANSCENDENCE

Self-transcendence
And
God-transcendence
Are the Self-form
Of the same transcendental Reality.

When I endeavour to fathom
My self-transcendence
With my human comatose eyes,
I see the radical transformation
Of the devouring tiger in me
Into the fast-running, sure-winning deer.

And when I plead with the Supreme
To elucidate the signification
Of transcendence, He just smiles
And declares:

"Yours is the transcendence-task
To touch the feet of My creation
For its fire-pure transformation.

Yours is the transcendence-goal
Where the comity of souls have discovered
Their only haven."

--Sri Chinmoy

http://www.srichinmoylibrary.com/sri-chinmoy-wings-light/part11/43.html

What is Emacs anyway?

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 18:43:01

I realised that not everybody may know what Emacs is, so I am adding a few quotes from famous Emacs users.

Emacs refers to a class of text editors, primarily for UNIX systems. Emacs editors are generally known for their large number of features, not all of which relate to editing text, and for its sometimes convoluted keyboard commands.

Emacs is undoubtedly the most powerful programmer's editor in existence. It's a big, feature-laden program with a great deal of flexibility and customizability. As we observed in the Chapter 14 section on Emacs Lisp, Emacs has an entire programming language inside it that can be used to write arbitrarily powerful editor functions.

--Eric S. Raymond, The Art of UNIX Programming

Don't get me wrong: Emacs is a great operating system - it lacks a good editor, though.

--Thomer M. Gil

If you are a professional writer—i.e., if someone else is getting paid to worry about how your words are formatted and printed—emacs outshines all other editing software in approximately the same way that the noonday sun does the stars. It is not just bigger and brighter; it simply makes everything else vanish.

--Neal Stephenson, In the Beginning...was the Command Line

I use emacs, which might be thought of as a thermonuclear word processor.

--Neal Stephenson, In the Beginning...was the Command Line

I'm writing this article with software called Emacs. The program is unlike any other word processor I've ever encountered. In addition to cutting and pasting text, Emacs can run other programs; send electronic mail; browse the World Wide Web; retrieve, edit, and send files across the Internet; and keep track of appointments. It's like a digital Swiss army knife.

--Charles C. Mann, Atlantic Monthly

Repeating Things In Emacs, and stop envying Vim...

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 18:05:45

I really, really like Emacs. Vim has a "repeat the last set of commands since a mode switch" by arrowing around and pressing "."

That seems to beat Emacs macros. I suppose it is an implicit macro. Since Emacs is (more) modeless, no such implicit capability exists without the chore of recording and repeating a macro.

But then I found out about dot-mode, that takes a stab at doing just that: see http://www.wyrick.org/source/elisp/dot-mode/ repeat.el

Also, a "dot-mode" like feature is built into Emacs 20+ via:

Ctrl-x z

This puts you into "repeat mode" (nee' vi-dot-mode) and repeatedly hitting "z" thereafter repeats the last command. It's not too useful because (unlike the dot-mode pointed above), it records motion keystrokes too. Thus, when you repeat, you repeat the very last "command", which, at least for my mode of usage, is typically an arrow-down. :-( The dot-mode you sent over does a better job. It only recalls commands that actually change the buffer.

But for my usage patterns it seemed more plausible to just make it easier to record a macro by remapping the macro start/end/run keys:

(define-key global-map [(control ?,)] 'call-last-kbd-macro)
(define-key global-map [(control ?9)] 'start-kbd-macro) ; start macro recording
(define-key global-map [(control ?0)] 'end-kbd-macro) ; stop macro recording

So now I press Ctrl-9 to start recording of a macro, Ctrl-0 to end recording of a macro and Ctrl-, to run the last recorded macro. This feels a lot better to use than "Ctrl-x shift-9 <do stuff> Ctrl-x shift-0" and then "Ctrl-x e" to run it.

Defining easier macro keys is a must, your brain is already full enough when creating and executing macros that the default 3-4 key combos are way too much. I've also used these for while:

(global-set-key [(f5)] 'start-kbd-macro)
(global-set-key [(control f5)] 'end-kbd-macro)
(global-set-key [(f6)] 'call-last-kbd-macro)
(global-set-key [(control f6)] 'name-last-kbd-macro)
(global-set-key [(control shift f6)] 'insert-kbd-macro)

The last two I use rarely and don't usually remember, but they help save (and edit) an important macro that's worth keeping.

Bottom line: try repeat.el!

Everest-Aspiration audiobook

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 22:39:02

Today my cold ("not flu", as Kausal, my Italian doctor, graciosly corrected me) has loosend its grip on me.

I was still quite weak and dizzy to work 100% head-on, but I managed to do quite a few things. Today's crown jewel is a recording session that gave us a few more recording takes for the coming Everest-Aspiration Audiobook, for Radio Sri Chinmoy.

Written by Sri Chinmoy, Everest-Aspiration is one of my all-time favourite books, I would say Top 3 (but don't ask me which are the other two... I would have a very difficult time to decide. Maybe one day I'll know I am to be marooned on a desert island, I will make up my mind and decide which ten books to save!)

Hopefully we'll have the first few chapters on Radio Sri Chinmoy soon.

Cold (was flu)

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 20:34:26

Yesterday I woke up with a very strong cold. Today I am still "under the weather", but the day is so nice outside I went out for a brief walk.

Funny, funny Morris...

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sat, 02 Sep 2006 15:22:33

From the superb literary magazine edited by my friend Morris Klein, over at Inspiration-Letters:

"I remember one Simpsons episode in which Homer Simpson slaps the television set because the comedy program he’s watching isn’t funny enough. If these stories don’t make you laugh, don’t blame your PC. Just get a Mac"

Editor Illustrious

About blogging

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 19:06:44

Blogging is supposed to be keeping a permanent web diary - with regular entries, perhaps every day, filled with formal and informal thoughts and musings, not subject to much revision, and often with comments by others enabled.

These characteristics pretty much differentiate blogging from other types of community reading and writing - e.g. news-groups (usenet), discussion boards, wikis, Instant Messaging, texting, and so forth.

Tendai Marathon Monks

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 22:54:45

A few weeks ago the 3100 mile race ended.

Tomorrow morning hundreds of smiling people from all over the world will run the 2006 Self-Transcendence Marathon (the third edition of this most beautiful race.)

I would like to post an article by James Davis (The London Observer) about another race, which I also find very inspiring, and somehow connected to the first two.

Sri Chinmoy's Amrit Mahotsava (75th birthday)

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 11:29:13

In four days Sri Chinmoy's Amrit Mahotsava (75th birthday) will be celebrated by many friends and admirers from all over the world. As I witness the tremendous energy and enthusiasm of my spiritual teacher, I can't help but compare him to my father and mother, who are now 71 and 69 years old respectively.

It has been my good fortune to have known Sri Chinmoy since 1989. I actually met him in person for the first time in Cologne, Germany, during his concert tour on Sunday 18 February, 1990.

My mind's eye, or my heart's memory, may be failing me, but it seems to me that while my dear parents age every year a little more, my spiritual teacher is getting younger every year.

I asked some people who do not know Sri Chinmoy how old they think he is. Their answer invariably was in a range of 50 to 60. That's 15 years off the mark!

I wish I could remember an aphorism by Sri Chinmoy I read once on a t-shirt, about loving and remaining young with God being a shining example.

But I know I could not have a more limpid example of love and youthfulness than my teacher.

Sri Chinmoy

A Chinese proverb

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 10:50:20

When you have only two pennies left in the world,

Buy a loaf of bread with one,

And a lily with the other.

-Chinese proverb

Three quotes by Douglas Adams

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 10:33:38

One

I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.

Two

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.

Three

In the beginning the Universe was created.

This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move.

--Douglas Adams

Easily adding tables with reStructuredText

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 19:31:36

The following table is done exclusively in reStructuredText. How easy it would be to, say, add results from a race!

(Results are purely hypotetical...)

Runners are Smilers!
Runner	Time	Description
Prachar	10.19	Way to go!
Dhanu	16.49	Ouch.
Priyadarshan	31.99	No comment...

I forgot to mention...

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 14:55:47

I forgot to mention this morning's delightful breakfast with Shardul.

I will let the pictures talk.

Off to my gallery

Ciao!

Planets and Plutons

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 09:00:07

Planets

(From: World Wide Words - Issue 501)

If a resolution at the International Astronomical Union's meeting in Prague is passed next week, the word "planet" will formally alter its meaning, requiring the reference books to be rewritten.

Pluto is not a dog...

The reason lies with the development of observational astronomy. The discovery in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh of Pluto, orbiting beyond the then known limits of the Solar System, was a sensation at the time. Because the initial estimates of its size were way too big, it was immediately included in the list of planets. But in recent years many similar objects have been found even further out, in a distant part of the Solar System called the Kuiper Belt, at least one of them larger than Pluto. So is Pluto a planet or a minor body? And if it is a planet, are these other new bodies also planets?

Divine Light is a gift...

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 13:56:38

"In a very broad sense you can call Light a divine gift. Everything good, in fact, is a divine gift. From the spiritual point of view, everything that a seeker has and is, is a divine gift – an unconditional gift from the transcendental Supreme."

-Sri Chinmoy

http://www.srichinmoy.org/resources/library/questions_answers/light

reStructuredText vs HTML

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 10:21:16

Lately I have been quite worried in seeing how much people care more about the look of a page instead of just concentrating on the content of that page. That seems quite wrong to me.

For large community sites at least, the look (fonts, colours, borders, spacing, and anything settable by css) should not be a choice of the individual user, but manifested by the skin settings.

How to make sushi

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sun, 13 Aug 2006 20:02:31

Today Sagar made an excellent Inari sushi. Yesterday he made a regular sushi, the one with Nori (sea weeds).

Boy, I really love sushi!

Long walk to Cunningham Park

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 13:13:59

Such a nice walk Shardul and myself did today! We started from the house where I live, and during our walk we enjoyed the splendid weather!,

We both took many photos, posted in the Walk's gallery

Thank you Shardul.

PS: WOW! I already have a comment! Many thanks to Richard for the English lesson! :)

Heat wave is past

Priyadarshan Bontempi — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 17:59:47

The heat wave seems to be past. Now the temperature is in the lower 30s C... Such a relief!