Article 3 - Escaping from technology addiction

How we can escape from getting addicted to technology? I don't think who are already addicted to it won't be even interested to discuss such a topic. But at one stage they will realize they are missing some important and happy moments of their life which is blind folded by the mammoth growth of technology. In my previous article I had explained about the impact and those missing moments or sweet memories.

Majority of technology is in the form of internet in laptops, iPods, iPads, tablets, computers, smart phones and other upcoming future generation gadgets which are controlling the human race at a fast pace. Though we cannot blame the internet invention itself, we can at least try to escape from getting addicted to it.  Now a days almost are all are getting addicted to most of social networking sites and some even stay online chatting over weeks, updating statuses with out having any breaks, chatting to brothers and sisters who stay in the same house but in different rooms, chatting to some unknown persons whom you have never seen in your life etc..

Probably they can all shutdown their systems and go for a walk in the garden and listen to the songs of birds and enjoy the power of real nature in the form of sun, moon, rain or rainbow. It seems really disconnected when human face to face communication is overwritten by assembly languages, matrix codes and programming algorithms. Probably all can visit their old childhood friends who reside in native places, can share their experiences with friends who work in a different domain or probably meet the elderly people who have not even heard of face book ;)

We can teach those kids who are addicted to games in smart phones or Xbox to play some old games which are extinct or not even heard. They can play hide and seek in the twilight or dance to their favorite music or play cricket or football or any of their favorite out door games in the play ground under sun light which all adds up to their health in the form of exercise and immunity.They can play some word games with parents which improve their language pronunciation, communication and vocabulary. They can listen to the fairy tales and historical stories from their grand parents which will teach them history, culture, relation and affection. They can read some useful physical books, participate in sports,poetry, art or painting competitions or at least give it all a try in their own home and show their talents to parents or relatives or neighborhood friends. All these extra curricular activities are real fun and really motivates the children for their studies too.

 Its not only kids, even adults and elders are spending hours and weeks before their favorite smart gadgets without even giving enough time to sleep. May be we need to go back to a time period where there were no gadgets or no electricity and watch over those people who survived with basic needs. So many inventions had helped people a lot, but it had made them work less physically and mentally. For example, invention of two, three, four (or more than that) wheeler vehicles made people to travel to long distances with ease but at the same time they got addicted to it in such a way that even for nearest shop or house, they are making use of them only. May be they forgot the use of their legs or forgot how to make them walk :) They are not even able to make use of stairs in order to go to first floor from ground floor, as escalators and lifts have made their legs to rest in peace. As a result, I am not saying that people can participate in some survival of fittest reality programs or to live with out internet (may be electricity) for 1 week in order to save from technology addiction, but at least try to breathe some fresh air free of technology, gadgets etc and take a break and go on a tour to your favorite vacation spot. Always think that humans should control technology and know their limits and restrictions and it is not the other way around.

-- Siva Subramanian. 

Article 2 - Impact of Technology on Human Memory

Vanishing are those days where kids used to play sports out in the sunshine, where adults used to meet their friends every week, where elders used to attend family functions, celebrate festivals in their home towns, where people used to say hello or hi to their neighbors.Apart from the daily work life, technology of television and internet has completely acquired those good old days which are merely memories now. 

Instead of running for a competitive race in the playground, kids, adults, teens and even elders are playing Temple Run series in Tablets. Instead of observing the nature in silence with a little country side walk,people are rushing in peak hours to their destinations in polluted and populated roads over the weekends. Instead of listening and enjoying the music of real birds, all are playing Angry Birds in iPad.  Instead of realizing and enjoying the value of their own native place or country, people are raising their eye brows and admiring the beauty of far away places and countries  which they can only dream of visiting. Instead of learning their own mother tongue language and converse to fellow humans, people are interested in learning tons of programming languages to communicate with machines.Instead of calling close friends and relatives over mobile phone, all started chatting in Facebook over the same smart phone (Meeting them directly and talking had stopped long back).

Even for simple maths calculations and help on medical advice, people are relying only on Google search. Then what is the use of children memorizing all maths time tables in their school life. We are not able to even remember the phone numbers of father, mother ,brothers or sisters or best friends as all contacts are stored safe in smart phone and synced to cloud. Over all technology is not only affecting memory, but also restricting human body, mind and soul. So instead of humans controlling technology, technology is controlling humans. Emotions, laughter, happiness are all tied up with machines now which was expressed between humans before. Thus technology is leaving a trace of old time as a treasure of memories which we are gradually forgetting now....

Its better we start saving some sweet memories which live short now a days. So how we can escape from being addicted to technology in order to understand the human brain power?

Will be continued in my next article,

Siva

Article 1 - Evolution of Technology

Various topics on technology always peek through one of technology's child internet every now and then. To list a few:

a) Technology - is it a boon or ban ? 

b) How technology has changed human's outlook toward the world in the last decade or century?

c) Are humans becoming addicted to technology use ?

d) Will artificial intelligent robots acquire human era in the near future?

Also we have been seeing so many science fiction thriller movies ranging from 2001- A space odyssey, Stealth to i-Robot, Matrix and War of the worlds where technology tries to overtake human life, memory, body, soul and everything. Now a days, no body can imagine a day without smart devices like mobile phones, tablets, laptops which is inter connected by the source as internet. If these are the recent inventions, then the previous major inventions like electricity, transportation including two, three and four wheeler, trains, airplanes etc have become the basic needs of day to day life.

The truth is that the new inventions in information technology are made to forget about the old ones.Cloud computing, Sixth sense and Google glass will make us forget about external hard disks, pen drives, laptops which in turn had made compact discs, floppy disks and personal computers disappear. But now even smart phones are becoming transparent. In the near future, every one will have their data in cloud locked with a secured account and password online.

If you want to meet some one 1000 miles away, your visual 3D or 4D projection can reach there in seconds and he will get a feel that he is talking to your clone. Every body is locating their destination in Google maps before they set out their journey now. But soon you can see the location route and destination point itself in front of you in a 3D projected satellite view like the scientists seeing island of Pandora in Avatar movie.

We cannot always predict how the technology will be evolving through out as the chain of inventions will never cease. Though these inventions are helping humans in various ways, they should not possess a threat to the humans.

Signing Off-

Siva

POEM 10 - COINCIDENCE

Rain, Rain, Rain, it always rain,

When you travel without an umbrella...

Rain, Rain, Rain, it doesn't rain,

When you travel wearing a rain coat holding an umbrella ...

Train, Train, Train, it always leaves at right time,

When you have reached one minute later...

Train, Train, Train, it is always late,

When you have reached half an hour early...

Bus, Bus, Bus, it is always the wrong one,

When you wait for the right bus in rush hour...

Bus, Bus, Bus, it is always the right one,

When you wait for an auto or taxi...

Phone, Phone, Phone, it always rings,

In your busy schedule from wrong numbers to credit card agents...

Phone, Phone, Phone, it doesn't ring at all,

When you expect a call or you are alone and free...

Money, Money, Money it is always not enough,

For a mind jumping from Landline to iPhone or Cycle to BMW....

Money, Money, Money it is always sufficient,

For a mind which values happiness more than money...

Time, Time, Time - you do not have enough time,

When you are in a hurry rushing to do things at the last moment...

Time, Time, Time - you always enjoy time,

When you have planned it well and execute things at the right moment...

Poet, Poet, Poet - you do not have one,

When you are breaking your brains to write one poem,

Poem, Poem, Poem - it always comes to the poet,

When the poet thinks everything else except writing a poem....

What a coincidence...

Panchatantra Punches Part 18

86. When the Gods of wealth, war, water and fire engaged themselves in a war, they all lost - For victory is neither in the hands of Gods or men !!!

87. The firefly looks like fire,
      The sky appears flat,
       Yet the sky and fly are neither this or that.

88. The false seems true and the true seems false, but appearances deceive, so think it through.

89. A ruler should first take fit and friendly advice and hear it more than once. Then think about it from first to last. Finally act and harvest fame and fortune, avoiding the absurd.

90. A friend is some one who understands what you do. A friend is someone who tells you the truth about yourself.

And here ends the mega series of Panchatantra Punches which I have been posting over months. I hope readers enjoyed each and every punch so far posted. It would have definitely provoked the thinking process of each and every one. If I get to know some thing interesting for another series , you can expect some parts of wisdom again. May be some poems and thoughts or messages will be circling around next in this blog. Until then.....

Signing Off,
Siva.

Panchatantra Punches Part 17

81. "It is by our education, good or bad, that the consequences are".. It is better to cling to a wise enemy than a foolish friend.

82. When the last hour arrives, that none however shrewd miss, a noble spirit serves his kind and death itself is bliss.

83. Wrong is wrong. The wise man will never try to justify a wrong as right, just as people avoid drinking gutter water, no matter how thirsty they are ...

84. When bit of royal land are lost, they can be won back easily, but the loss of a true and understanding friend is a deadly pain. He / She can never be replaced.

85. If we desire to survive and prosper, we should not leave alive father, brother, son or bosom friend, should they become a threat to us. Learn from anyone, who is wise, even if he be a mere boy.

Panchatantra Punches Part 16

76. Do these three things only once.

a) The word of a king once spoken,
b) A saint's speech,
c) A girl given in marriage.

77. Rivers end in the salty sea, family peace ends when women disagree, secrets end when traitors are not thrown out and families end through a wicked son.

78. Where the tongue is double, you may look for trouble. Every boastful traitor skillful in slander, brings about the ruin of all those in his clutches.

79. Choose a shrewd and upright man as your friend, but if a man be foolish and false, kick him out at the earliest.

80. Better plunge into the sea or fire or the deepest fit than associate with a dangerous fool.

Panchatantra Punches Part 15

71. Educating an useless fellow does not kill his pride, but increases it. Education is supposed to remove stupidity and pride, but if it encourages them, who can cure the educated man.

72. Rulers who follow the advice of mean and vicious fellow gets trapped in the cage of misadventure.

73. A king shines as a social being not as a solitary; whoever wishes him to be lonely is his adversary.

74. Kings should suspect no poison in harsh criticism, but in flattery they should see treason.

75. Only fools seek friends through treason, through humbug righteousness, property by cheating neighbors,
learning without labor and a woman's love through cruelty and pride.

Panchatantra Punches Part 14

66. By fleeing to a distant place, you are not commune from danger.  The long arms of fate will make the careless sinner pay wherever he is.

67. A reckless adviser bent on his petty purpose, threatens life and brings ruin to the king and kingdom.

68. The wise try four means to end a quarrel-

• Peace
• Shrewd intrigue
• Bribery
• Courage

69. A rogue cannot continue other's good work,  but can ruin it.

70. A good statesman should take into account 5 factors : 

• A proper beginning.
• Resources - human and material.
• Determine the place and time.
• Safeguards against bad luck.
• Finally successful accomplishment.

Panchatantra Punches Part 13

61. Accurate self critics are secure even in times of severe strain. Plan your effort, assess your strength, then your action will bring the desired fruit.

62. A well advised scheme to separate friends will work just like the constant pressure of water on a solid rock makes it split and give way for the water.

63. The man who studies every book and understands, but does not look to his advantage, learns in vain - his books are merely a mental strain.

64. Though your speech should be sweet as sugar, steel your heart, do not draw a doubtful breath or you will pay with death.

65. For the wise man, who wishes to hurt some one, pursuing selfish ends, should keep his plans a secret.

Panchatantra Punches Part 12

56. Where the family, fame and wealth is the same, marriage or friendship is secure, but not between the rich and the poor.

57. Ambition and greed for reward blinds one to danger. Men avoid the easy good and place too much confidence in rogues.

58. Like a fruit-laden tree whose branches bend low, the peacock whose proud feather makes his walk sluggish and slow, speedy horse which is tied and fed, so also the god discover that their own good is their enemy.

59. A man is great because of his virtues is no longer true, for the world takes little or no note of a brave deed.

60. By gifts, by self denial, by sacrifices, some slowly go to heaven, but to the one who dies in a heroic battle, the entry is immediate.

Panchatantra Punches Part 11

51. A truly kind man saves you from vice, 
      A true wife shares your mind, 
      True actions keep you free from blame,
      True joy keeps you away from shame of greed,
      True wisdom wins the praise of saints,
      True friends show no restraint,
      True glory knows no arrogance &
      True men are cheerful even in distress.

52. The fool who does not know his own strengths and weakness is his own enemy. Whoever spurns a pleading enemy, disrespects the Holy Trinity - Brahma, Shiva  & Vishnu.

53. 5 kinds of people are dead even while alive: -

• The poor
• The chronically sick
• The fool
• Those living in exile
• The servants or slaves of king.

54. Women befriend rogues, money goes to the miserly, rain to the mountains and the seas, and kings with rascals.

55. False friends are worse than useless. Friends who compliment you on your face, but speak ill of you behind your back are like a jug of poison with milk cream on top.

Panchatantra Punches Part 10

45. No rogue ever gives a reason for dishonesty, and no saint for his compassion - No matter how much kindness you show to a rascal, he will remain a rascal.

46. Lost is a gift which does not fit, lost is a service when it is lavished on idiots, lost in ingratitude is the kindest advice and lost is courtesy on one who is not a gentle man.

47. A perfume on a corpse, shouting to the deaf, or applying sense to fools, brings no rewards.

48. Whether it be friend, relative. teacher or even the king, they must be kept within their limits, when they have evil designs.Otherwise they will make you bend to their will.

49. Rest your head in fire, have snakes for pillow, but do not put up with friends who knowingly commit wrong or stabs a knife on your back with a smile.

50. 3 things in life is worth living for : Virtue, money and love.

Panchatantra Punches Part 9

39. Where brute force fails, a shrewd scheme might work.
 Also when you allow a petty enemy to grow, he grows like a disease, until he goes out of control. Even gods befriend a man who chooses to climb heights of determination.

40. Whether it is broken silver or a loose tooth or a treacherous friend, relief comes only when we pull them out root and all.

41. A king should never delegate to one man all the powers of state for soon he grows in pride, plots to unseat the ruler, to occupy the seat himself.

42. His actions may be hard to bear,
      his speech harsh to hear,
     the heart though clings delighted to a person truly dear.

43. Why wear the dazzling earrings, if they cut your ear.

44. A man fat / lean can better serve the king than the proud and the mightiest elephant.

Panchatantra Punches Part 8

36. Rulers may be honored gentlemen, they may be devoted, still servants leave a ruler who does not pay the salary.They are like birds that desert a withered tree.

37. Due to a sudden madness, a king embraces a vice, it is the duty of the servants to check him and make him nice.

38. 5 main dangerous vices:

Deficiency or Non existence: Due to absence of a ruler, adviser, people, friends, border fortification, wealth & power to punish

Corruption: When people become restless

Attachment:  Under love comes Drink, women, hunting, gambling. Under hatred comes anger, greed, cruelty.

Destruction: 8 kinds - An act of god, fire, water, disease, epidemic, panic, famine and floods.

Wrong policies - One makes a wrong use of 6 means - peace, war, base, change of base, alliance and duplicity.

Panchatantra Punches Part 7

Panchatantra or better known as "codes of conduct" is considered one of the oldest and best work of literature in the Indian history. Though the original information was shared to the world in Sanskrit, it has been translated to simple words in English, Hindi , Tamil and many other languages.Packed with words of wisdom, letters of virtue and characters of charm , it is definitely a treasure of knowledge.

Moving on to Part 7 of Panchatantra Punches:

31. Whatever a fellow desires, sees, hears, or does in broad daylight, haunts him in his sleep.

32. Whatever secret a man keeps hidden in his bosom, he gives it away when he is in drunk or talks in his sleep.

33. A woman is true only when she has no chance, no dark corner and no man to entice. The idiot who thinks that his lover truly loves him is like a tame bird, always in the woman's power.

34. Whom does not fortune render proud, and whom does not death lay low - whoever has heard indeed a truthful word from a gambler or a king who keeps a friendship permanently.

35. No matter how foolish low or idiotic a king's servant might be, he will act with a vengeance when his honor has been dented.

Panchatantra Punches Part 6

Below is a gang of characters involved in Panchatantra stories which I have forgotten to mention in my previous blog posts:

• Birds such as crows, cranes, swans, owls, eagles etc.
• Reptiles such as crocodiles, snakes etc.
• Rest of them include frogs, crabs etc.

Let us continue to Part 6:

26. The earth, the seas and the mountains all have their limits, but the deep thoughts of a king have no boundaries.

27. Straight, sturdy, fully tested and polished should the pillars be for a house as well. as the state

28. 4 things are like nectar: Milk sweets, a fire in cold weather, a honor granted by a king and lovers coming together.

29. Whoever is too arrogant to show the king's attendants due honor,
will lose the monarch's good will.

30. Do not waste your time planning angry shameless schemes of revenge,
unless you have the capacity to do it. An angry chick pea, hopping up and down can hardly hurt the frying pan.

Panchatantra Punches Part 5

Animation films like Ice Age series and Ratatouille are under my favorite animation movie list. I would wonder what clicks those movies to be a tremendous reach to the entire audience of the world. It is like every main character from the movie delivers a message to our minds or brains. For example, message from Ratatouille would be that sentence "Any body can cook". 

It keeps us thinking,keeps us busy, keeps us entertaining,keeps us laughing, keeps us sit and watch them till the movie ends and keeps us to watch them over and over again at any time.So the fundamental aspects from the movie are sense of humor and thoughts. It is the same feeling I had while reading Panchatantra or some children fairy tales. Though some may tease like still you are reading kid's stories or watching kid's movies, for them I would say enjoy the humor and thought process from anybody - no matter it comes from a 3 year old kid or 80 year old grandpa.

So today's panchatantra punches continues as below:

21. The good servant at his lord's command fears nothing on hand.He crosses uncharted seas and gladly steps into a fire, if his master wishes so.

22. A servant who has been spurned by a king, though born and brought up by him, will still be eager to destroy him.

23.The trustful strong men are caught easily by their weaker enemies, while the careful strong men stays safe even from their deadliest enemies.

24. Just as the healthy man has no use for medicines to restore him to good health. so also does a king, free from troubles, no use for advisers.

25.Whoever speaks even small untruths to a king, invites certain ruin on his gods and on his teacher too. So always speak the truth to the loyal who in turn expects loyalty from you.

Panchatantra Punches Part 4

Let us sharpen our skills smart as sharp as an eagle's eye.
If you just start reading thought provoking stories try to learn the positive message it delivers to your real life. No matter whether it is from a school kid's English text book or from a science fiction fantasy novel or historical fiction article or spy thriller blogs. 

Now let us roll our sleeves and get back to Punches Part 4:

16. You find relief amidst great disaster in telling things to a powerful master, honest servant, a faithful friend or a wife who loves you till the end.

17. Water breaks the dams, love disappears when bad feelings enter, secrets vanish when people start babbling and simple words melt even cruel hearts.

18. Wisely move one foot, while the other holds firmly, for until assured of some new home, do not desert the old.

19. If you are brave and bold, no matter how fierce the enemy, no defeat or sorrow would touch you. Brave hearts do not fear even threats from heavens.

Let me make the next point as a puzzle from the same panchatantra story book. Let me see how many sharp eagles can give an answer to it.

20. "I thought at first it was full of fat,
        I crept within,
        There I did not find a thing,
        Except some wood and skin". What is it?

Answers are expected within 1 week from today. If not , It will be added as comment by myself.

Panchatantra Punches Part 3

Most of the stories from panchatantra will have some specific characters like Jackals, wolves and foxes coming under the category of cunning and trickier beings, camels, bulls, oxen, cows, donkeys under the honest , dumb or ignorant category and the lions, tigers, leopards or elephants playing the brave, majestic and commanding roles. We can compare those behavioral pattern mapping of these characters in real life too.Let us continue on to Part 3 of the punches:

11. A good servant will give master good or bad news and then help him in the decision making process with a touch of humor. The man who does not want his master's fall will advise him, though uninvited.

12. To clean a tooth or scratch an ear, a straw may serve a king, but a man of speech & action is a higher kind of thing.

13. The usefulness of a horse,book,sword,woman, flute or word depends entirely on the quality of the user.

14. Does not gold come from a stone?
      Does not water lily spring from mud?
      Does not lotus bud sprout from cow dung?
      So men of distinction become so by their attainments, not by birth.

15. The wise who have mastered the universal law, do not care either for money or position. They are like the bull which cannot be restrained by an chain when it is in rage.

Panchatantra Punches Part 2

Whenever we read some stories,novels or articles especially like Panchatantra or Five Principles - it draws our attention to think in the character's pursuit and it gets so interesting to read till the end. Also the moral of the story triggers the awareness and common sense to the readers. So lets move on to the part 2 of the punches from panchatantra tales.

6. From a mere gesture, walk, twitch or word, from the eye and look,
   the wise can read one's thoughts.

7. No burden weakens the strong,
   To the enterprising no road is long,
   To the well informed, nothing is strange,
  To the flatterer, no man is a stranger.

8. A gentleman will never interrupt during a conversation,
    a fight or when the monarch is consulting a psychic,
   is with his barber, flirting with a woman or when he is devouring his favorite food.

9. Students should not meddle with their teachers things. 
    Destruction - fast & sure waits on such meddlers.

10. A loved & beloved one is who never gives a painful reply or laughs loudly teasing others, who pretends not to hear the goings on in the king's household & keeps his mouth shut in women's quarters, who hates gambling, avoids liquor and treats other's wives as if they were statues.

Panchatantra Punches Part 1

During my childhood days, I used to read a lot of Panchatantra stories, Jataka tales, Akbar Birbal tales, Aesop fables etc. Most of them I used to read from my school library itself. While reading those stories, I would quote down the catchy quotes or rather I feel them as punch dialogues or punches in short. Thought of moving those scribbled notes into my blog as many parts. The best part of these punches is it makes you keep thinking and it would imply the actions, happenings and messages to your various stages of life. Though most of them may be contradictory or for and against the normal human thoughts, we always have the right to debate on such topics. So here it goes:

1.Unborn or dead sons will cause a little grief for sometime, no doubt, but foolish sons will cause one much sadness throughout.

2.Of what use is a cow, which neither gives a calf nor yields milk. Similarly why beget a son who is an idiot and disobedient.

3.Re-employ the money you have earned like releasing the surplus water from a reservoir.

4.Wise serve the kings by hurting his foes and helping his friends. Life is indeed life when many lives depend on it.

5. Vice and Virtue are like an effort to carry stones uphill, but they are tumbling down in a jiffy.Honor or disgrace of a man  will decide his inner worth.