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Experiences which I would like to share

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krish44 said:
Iyerji

Quoting some sanskrit text and calling it as ones sanskar and feeling holy about it can perhaps make you feel good.

And calling someone Non brahminical -acting as the upholder of brahmin values whatever it might mean to you is despicable.

It is a cold fact human becomes just a corpse when his heart stops beating.

No mantra or tantra can revive the dead.

At the burning ghat, the persons there do not treat a brahmin corpse differently from others.

They are based on size of the body for deciding the requirement of wood .
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According to Jaggi Vasudev it seems a dead body can be revived by Tantra if the Udhana hasnt left the body.

God knows if its true or not.

May be Narayanaswamy iyer Ji could be knowing more on this cos he is very learned.

For me ..its Na janaami mantram..na janaami tantram.
 
Janaki Jambunathan said:
My cousin opted for B.Sc(Hon) though he got admission for BE in PSG - CBE saving 1 year of education expenses He cleared UPSC (IRS) and joined railways!
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Late fiftees and early sixties, all opted for engg as oppurtunities were more.

I did do three years BE after BSc[hons].

Those were the most enjoyable years. Did not get to learn much though.I was complacent since I had already one degree.I learnt about enjoying the new found freedom

living in hostel . Late night movies in bangalore and pubs there introduced me to what best that metro had to offer. At the end of engg not much wiser than before

academically but became worldly wise.

Academic institutions are the best places for resting in india.I spent nearly ten years later doing PG , research in IIT .They were good labels with money for decent living .

I never thought I would have to work for a living . These institutions had spoiled me and I had no work attitude.I also cleared IRSE [engg stream] renamed engg services exam. on compulsion from

family.I could have become asst engr. in PWD and become multi millionaire by now. Sad...lost oppurtunity.
 
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renuka said:
According to Jaggi Vasudev it seems a dead body can be revived by Tantra if the Udhana hasnt left the body.

God knows if its true or not.

May be Narayanaswamy iyer Ji could be knowing more on this cos he is very learned.

For me ..its Na janaami mantram..na janaami tantram.
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One use of dead body.

These are borrowed by beggars from morgues of general hospital and used for collecting money for cremation.

At the end of the day they are returned to morgues for returning to relatives of the dead.
 
krish44 said:
One use of dead body.

These are borrowed by beggars from morgues of general hospital and used for collecting money for cremation.

At the end of the day they are returned to morgues for returning to relatives of the dead.
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Some are very familiar with tricks of such trade. lol
 
What many do not know about IITs is that they have got good faculties in humanities.

Old IITs have excellent libraries stocking the best novels with literary values.

I have spent hours in air conditioned comfort browsing and sometimes reading in full many classics.I got introduced to the best english writers like Somerset Maugham, Saul

Bellow, Ernst Hemigway, PG wodehouse, George Orwell and many more.

Also they were/ are with huge shelves stacked with books and one could read sitting in remote corner in comfortable chairs and fall asleep also without inviting attention.
 
All our top educational institutions like IITs and IIMs are basically elitist catering to the brilliant few. however these brands have got diluted with reservations in recent years

and opening of several more of them.There was no issue of economics in sixties and seventies as the fees was very low and almost everyone had a scholarship sponsored

either by the institute or some outside agency who later absorbed them in jobs.IITs had foreign tie ups which resulted in best of faculties and labs.These places were the

best spring boards for going abroad ,mostly US or canada.We trained IIT graduates and PGs only for foreign consumption.Most went off never to return.
 
IIT admission - SC stays - When my son joined IIT Madras way back in 90s it was delayed because IIT professors we're agitating There was a move to equate them with professors of other universities and IIT faculty wanted them to name them as professors of eminence and not equal to other University professors!
 
Janaki Jambunathan said:
IIT admission - SC stays - When my son joined IIT Madras way back in 90s it was delayed because IIT professors we're agitating There was a move to equate them with professors of other universities and IIT faculty wanted them to name them as professors of eminence and not equal to other University professors!
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Now IITs have got embroiled in politics.

Professors have been sucked into controversies and demeaned.

Sadhus have been brought into campuses to impart their special knowledge to professors.

Recently students have also got politicalised with beef festival and assaulting of student who consumed beef in one of the IITs.
 
renuka said:
Only a realized person has no attachment to the body or after life.
They do not desire any karyams too.

Ayushman Bhava..seldom find peiople like you.
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UG Krishnamurthy has a different idea of enlightenment or realized


Uppaluri Gopala Krishnamurti (9 July 1918 – 22 March 2007), known as U. G. Krishnamurti, was an Indian philosopher who questioned enlightenment. Although many considered him an "enlightened" person, Krishnamurti often referred to his state of being as the "natural state". He claimed that the demand for enlightenment was the only thing standing in the way of enlightenment itself, if enlightenment existed at all.

I think he may be right

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/U._G._Krishnamurti
 
This dog barking a book on UGK Reviews highlight some interesting thoughts of this man!

The late UG Krishnamurti did something similar for philosophy. Through his fierce, erudite opposition to not just the concepts, but also the objectives associated with conventional philosophy, UG pricked the complacency of students and teachers alike. A new graphic novel, This Dog Barking (written by Nicholas Grey and illustrated by James Farley), provides us with a highly approachable (and, at times, brilliant) summary of the ‘anti-enlightenment’ thinker’s fascinating life.


These meetings are among the best pages of this impressively iconoclastic book. The supposed ‘weirdness’ of UG has been written and drawn in a way that makes him look like the straight guy in a two-person comedy sketch, playing off Jiddu’s highfalutin philosophising. Again and again, UG requests the World Teacher to cut down on the mysticism and give him to-the-point answers. But the reader soon realises that Jiddu’s thought process has crystallised permanently, to the extent that he is utterly incapable of talking sans solipsism and cryptic metaphors.

This signifies the larger problem that UG pinpointed in the trajectory that most 20th-century spiritual movements follow: a centralised ‘enlightened’ leader, whose followers spread the word in mainstream media outlets, and whose ‘ascension’ is cheered on by politicians, actors and hangers-on who hope to gain materially by the movement’s rise (the influential non-fiction book Feet of Clay details the less-than-savoury histories of some of these movements, profiling people such as Shree Rajneesh aka Osho, David Koresh, Jim Jones and others). And so good intentions and intermittently brilliant ideas add up to just another personality cult.

This is why UG, from the very beginning, is adamant about his own worth as a teacher — or lack thereof. Everywhere he travels, he attracts followers who want to listen to him. But he explicitly tells them to go away, to not pay heed to his words. In the titular passage of the book, UG tells them that their questioning him is akin to people “throwing stones at a dog (...) you translate the sound of this dog’s barking into meaningful language”.

http://m.thehindubusinessline.com/b...l-on-ug-krishnamurtis-life/article9752291.ece
 
My engineering college interview 2
DRESS REHEARSAL


Once I got leave from my Principal and warden, that evening itself I left for my native place Ariyalur which was just two hours away by train. My parents and some of my other relatives who had gathered in the front verandah of my house gave me a welcome as if the interview call itself was admission to the engineering college and asked me whether I was ready for the interview. I was the least prepared for the interview, since I was the least interested in it, but I couldn't let my heart out, lest I was dubbed stupid.

So to keep my self respect and honour in tact(!), I said that I was prepared for the interview, but when I was cornered, I had no other go except to admit before them the fact that I had no pants and shoes, not to speak of ties and would appear for the interview only in dhoti and chappals.

Till then I had never used pants and chappals and my official college dress was only dhothi and shirt. Occasionally I used country chappals made to order by the local cobbler. On most days I used to walk bare footed. In my high school days my attire was shorts and shirt only. Many of our people's belief in those days in our village was that wearing pants, shoes and dressing immaculately was taboo for a student or any other non earning member and an indication of anti family values and virtues characteristic of rogues and antisocial elements! Most of them believed in a simple rustic life and abhorred things which they considered luxury.

My uncle and one of my grand uncles in the group who had a better exposure to the outside world were very particular about details and they were totally upset at my approach and unpreparedness for an interview like this, which according to them was a great and important occasion in one's life which should not be missed or treated lightly and chastised me for being primitive looking even after joining the college and not adapting myself to a college lifestyle.They were disappointed to the core and needless to say were extremely unhappy. They were very particular that I must appear for the interview not in dhothies and chappals like a village farmer, but in pant and shoes like an urbanite giving the appearance of a decent college student. But I had no pants or shoes to wear on, for confessing which fact I was banged left and right.

Immediately my uncle came with his spare pant and shoes saying that it might suit me alright. With great difficulty and after a few unimaginable buffoonery, I managed to put on the borrowed pant and even with greater difficulty the shoes, for it was then that I was handling(!) those two objects (!) which were foreign to me till then. Having walked freely bare footed and very occasionally with simple village chappals all the while, I found it next to impossible to walk with shoes without stumbling a few times like a tottering baby learning walking, walking becoming more difficult than wearing it!

There was virtually a full dress rehearsal until the elders were satisfied. They were very particular that a rustic like me might not be able to manage all by myself and hence sent along with me my cousin (who was just one year senior to me and who was also not quite familiar with Madras) as my escort and asked him to ensure that I appeared for the interview at the right time and right place with the right attire. . So it was his responsibility now to put me at the right spot at the right time and that made me feel a bit relieved and less tense. I was also permitted to use dhothies and sandals during travel with the express warning that I must change over to pant and shoes before presenting myself to the interview committee. We were told that one of our relatives in Madras whom we both have not met so far would meet us at station and pick us up to his home. Thus with this elaborate preparation and bountiful advice, with all other attendant paraphernalia and with a bag in hand and a holdall with a bed packed in it, I left for station with my cousin to catch the express train to Madras which used to halt at our village in the dead of night for about two minutes.

Reservation was unknown then and there were no sleepers too and we had to travel in a “sit and sleep” posture throughout our travel. Unmindful of all that, we squeezed ourselves in available seats happily and the train started moving and was steaming fast carrying both of us through those dark stretches to my dream paradise that was Madras.
(continued)
 
My upvote for the above post.Thanks.

For many in rural india to go to metros for higher education is a dream come true.

The culture shock of transacting with urban elite in modern dresses, speaking in convent english, coping with different food habits and timings[Most hostels have breakfast,

lunch and dinner while in schools back in villages it is morning eat home with thayir sadam tiffin for school], and different types of toilets .

Students from interiors of bihar and ralasthan in delhi univ had a tough time using the western toilets in hostels.Similarly dozens from tamilnadu [urban and rural] admitted to commerce

stream in sriram college of commerce [ based on state board marks with no normalisation] could not cope either with the academics, food [north indian], local language,

brash behaviour of locals. Some had studied in tamil medium which made it worse for them.Many became homesick and could not cope with life in delhi univ.

Also TN students get admission in OBC and sc/st quota as those from other states cannot match them in grades.These are miserable in delhi coping with life
 
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My engineering college interview (continued)

Our train was late by half an hour when it steamed into Egmore railway station. The fact that I was landing in Madras, a great city much bigger than Thiruchy and Madurai which I had seen and very much bigger than my own village gave me a thrill beyond words.

With deposits of coal particles on my head and with sleepy eyes, we ( me and my cousin) both set our feet at the platform at Egmore and started looking for the elderly gentleman who was supposed to come to the station to pick us up. He had not seen us, nor had we seen him earlier and so we were not sure whether we would be able to spot each other. But we were hopeful that from our searching and blinking looks, he might be able to locate us. Time was passing by.

Already we were late and since we couldn't afford to waste our time further looking for him, we decided to proceed straight from the station to the College of Engineering, Guindy, which was the venue of our interview, taking an autorickshaw (auto in short).

The first auto driver whom we met was readily willing to take us to the college, but demanded five rupees, there being no meter in the autos in those days. It was a demand and pay regime as it is today (and today is no better than those days even if there be a meter which is never operated). 'Five rupees' was a big sum those days particularly for youngsters like us and we started negotiating with him and at last settled down for three and a half rupees (Three Rupees and Eight Annas).

Carrying both of us with our bags and baggages, the auto whizzed past, meandering through the city roads. I was so tense that I was not able to enjoy my first ever auto ride.

All the time we were worried about reaching the college in time for the interview and asked the driver to go fast, because it was getting late. The driver studied our urgency and after reaching a particular spot near a big banyan tree and a small depot, surrounded with wetlands on all sides (which we later on realised was Adyar), he asked us to get down from the auto saying that his auto had developed some mechanical snag and could not proceed further. He said we could take another auto from nearby and demanded his full fare of Three and a half Rupees knowing fully well we didn't have enough time to pick up a quarrel with him on this count. We were hard pressed for time and we didn't realise where exactly we were but not exhibiting our ignorance told him " you have dropped us in the midway and the college is still FAR OFF from here and for the distance covered by you, we will pay only two rupees" and after some unpleasant arguments and finding no other way, paid him three rupees and got done with him.

Then we approached the lone auto standing nearby and to our dismay, he demanded four rupees. We argued with him saying " the college is very CLOSE BY and it is not fair on your part to ask four rupees for this short distance". But he retorted saying " I have been listening to what you have been saying to that auto driver. YOU YOURSELF TOLD HIM THAT THE COLLEGE IS STILL TOO FAR OFF FROM HERE. So the four rupees which I demand is very reasonable". Having no time to bargain, we settled down for three rupees and even as we were trying to get into that auto, we found to our dismay that the earlier auto that dropped us there on the plea it could not move because of a mechanical snag was zooming past towards the direction from which we came. So when I think back, I find that these automen have not changed a wee bit, but we have to give credit to the automen of yester years for not being very unreasonable as of today in demanding exorbitant fares. Thus we ended up paying a total of six rupees to reach the college!

We reached the college just in time and it was almost a Cinderella's dash and with our bags and baggage we stepped down from the auto, put our entire luggage under the staircase space near the entrance of that imposing building there and I joined the main queue of candidates seated in benches, waiting for the interview. So where was the time for me to change my clothes? Absolutely no time and I was prepared to take the interview with my dhothies and chappals on and after putting me in place, my cousin left to a distant corner under the staircase for changing his dress. After a few minutes he appeared in pant, shirt and shoes and told me that he would be waiting in one of the many rooms nearby and come back to see me after the interview was over.
There was a large line of contenders who were all seated in benches according to the interview card number and I found my place in the queue and got seated in a bench waiting for the call! The man next to me was also from St Joseph's College, Thiruchy who was wearing dhothi like me and in addition had a tuft which was considered very orthodox even in those days. He was my classmate at St Joseph's and a day scholar from Srirangam. I was doubly happy to see another recluse like me! At last, the much awaited call came and I entered the interview chamber rather casually with neither tension nor hopes.

MY INTEREST WAS IN SEEING THE CITY AND NOT IN THE INTERVIEW.
( continued)
 
Thank you Mr krishji. Thank you for your enthsiastic and encouraging response. I am from a very backward village ( at that time) and from a lower middle class, conservative society. Even today, I have not got over the complex. I could understand the feeling of the first generation village boys attending college. The right thing to encourage is not by diluting the standard of education, but by providing a sound education by upgrading village schools.
 
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I am not able to post under this thread. It shows some error. I have been trying since yesterday
 
I am unable to post "MY Engineering College Interview". I have tried several times. While all other things get posted, why this particular write up which is a continuation of my previous write up does not get posted, I don't understand.
 
My engineering college interview:( continued)
THE INTERVIEW
It was time now for me to face the interview.
The interview committee consisted of four experts, two of whom, I was able to recognise later, one as Mr Paul, the then Principal of the College of engineering, Guindy and the other, a retired Chief Engineer Mr Venkatakrishna Iyer, after whom one of the main roads in Mandavelli in Madras is named.
As soon as I entered the chamber, I was asked to take my seat. The principal member of the committee shot the first question at me asking me my name making sure that I am the candidate. ( continued)
 
My Engineering college interview (continued)
The interview went on as follows:
What is your father's name?
Ramachandran
What is he?
He is a small landlord.
Which is your native place?
Ariyalur
What are you doing now?
(Like Thangavelu in Kalyana Parisu, I had half a mind to say that 'I am attending the interview', but for fear of being mistaken for being crazy, I desisted from doing so)
I am doing my mathematics honours at St Joseph's college, Thiruchy.
Why not you continue your Maths (Hons)?
If I don’t get engineering, that is what I will do.
You say, your father is a landlord. Then why didn't you apply for agriculture?
Even without studying agriculture, we know how to deal with our lands.
(what an audacious bluff it is, especially before such eminent people! Had they asked one very elementary question in agriculture, I would have been floored! Thank God, they didn't.)
 
You say you are at Thiruchy. Where are you staying there?
At Clive's Hostel.
Have you seen Cauvery bridge?
Yes, Sir.
Have you seen Coleroon (now known as Kollidam) bridge?
Yes,Sir.
What is the difference between Cauvery bridge and Coleroon bridge?
Cauvery bridge is built across Cauvery, while Coleroon bridge is built across Coleroon (continued)
 
My Engg College interview (continued)
You say, your father is a landlord. Then why didn't you apply for agriculture?
Even without studying agriculture, we know how to deal with our lands.
(what an audacious bluff it is, especially before such eminent people! Had they asked one very elementary question in agriculture, I would have been floored! Thank God, they didn't.)
You say you are at Thiruchy. Where are you staying there?
At Clive's Hostel.
Have you seen Cauvery bridge?
Yes, Sir.
Have you seen Coleroon (now known as Kollidam) bridge?
Yes,Sir.
What is the difference between Cauvery bridge and Coleroon bridge?
Cauvery bridge is built across Cauvery, while Coleroon bridge is built across Coleroon
( what an audacity again! Such an answer would definitely debar me from being selected, but I had the guts to talk so because I was not interested in getting selected. I don't know what happened to me afterwards. I lost the courage with age. That is why probably people say age mellows down people. When one has nothing to gain, there is nothing to fear is the maxim that proved true in my case)
continued
 
My Engg College interview (continued)
You say, your father is a landlord. Then why didn't you apply for agriculture?
Even without studying agriculture, we know how to deal with our lands.
(what an audacious bluff it is, especially before such eminent people! Had they asked one very elementary question in agriculture, I would have been floored! Thank God, they didn't.)
You say you are at Thiruchy. Where are you staying there?
At Clive's Hostel.
Have you seen Cauvery bridge?
Yes, Sir.
Have you seen Coleroon (now known as Kollidam) bridge?
Yes,Sir.
What is the difference between Cauvery bridge and Coleroon bridge?
Cauvery bridge is built across Cauvery, while Coleroon bridge is built across Coleroon
( what an audacity again! Such an answer would definitely debar me from being selected, but I had the guts to talk so because I was not interested in getting selected. I don't know what happened to me afterwards. I lost the courage with age. That is why probably people say age mellows down people. When one has nothing to gain, there is nothing to fear is the maxim that proved true in my case)
continued
 
My Engg College interview (continued)
Fortunately no one mistook me for being so very cranky but there was a mild and funny reaction from the members and one of them asked with a smile:
What is the TECHNICAL difference between these two bridges? ( with emphasis on the word "technical")
Sir, it is ONLY to learn such things, I am applying for engineering.
The member must have been really flabbergasted (or at least I thought so).
So you are really interested in engineering?
Yes, Sir
( any interview gives an opportunity for one to bluff freely and so even though within the heart of hearts, I had no such interest for engineering, I didn't want to expose myself before them which would lead to more unnecessary questions and so said "yes")
With a few more insipid, dull and uninteresting questions, they said
Yes. Now you can go.
 
rgurus said:
My Engg College interview (continued)
You say, your father is a landlord. Then why didn't you apply for agriculture?
Even without studying agriculture, we know how to deal with our lands.
(what an audacious bluff it is, especially before such eminent people! Had they asked one very elementary question in agriculture, I would have been floored! Thank God, they didn't.)
You say you are at Thiruchy. Where are you staying there?
At Clive's Hostel.
Have you seen Cauvery bridge?
Yes, Sir.
Have you seen Coleroon (now known as Kollidam) bridge?
Yes,Sir.
What is the difference between Cauvery bridge and Coleroon bridge?
Cauvery bridge is built across Cauvery, while Coleroon bridge is built across Coleroon
( what an audacity again! Such an answer would definitely debar me from being selected, but I had the guts to talk so because I was not interested in getting selected. I don't know what happened to me afterwards. I lost the courage with age. That is why probably people say age mellows down people. When one has nothing to gain, there is nothing to fear is the maxim that proved true in my case)
continued
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LOL...you actually gave such answers?
I remember at my first job interview to join internship at goverment service..here its compulsory to serve government for 4 yrs in order to be able to practice medicine.
One of the interviewer saw my A levels and O levels results and noticed I scored very high in language subjects especially Malay language..I scored a high marked distinction..its not an easy subject.

So he said..most scientific minded students esp doctors do not score so high in language..you scored exceptionally well ..why did you choose to be a doctor and not a linguist?

Are you sure you made the right career choice?

I didnt know what to reply..so I said " Sir..I also scored equally well in my science subjects..so I chose medicine"

Then he said " but where will your passion eventually lie..only time will tell"

Anyway I got the job .but 21 yrs later what he asked me where my passion lies became true..I actually prefered studying languages and into my 6th language now....might consider teaching languages eventually.

Wonder how that doc who interviewed me guessed it so right?
 
I am not able to post my experiences under the thread "experiences which I would like to share with you". It shows error and the page closes. As per the suggestion of Mr Prasad, I tried to split it into few sentences and posted them. That consumes va large amount of time and more than two postings become difficult, At that rate, my life time may not be enough to post what all I want to share with you all. So I am closing this thread and continuing it in a different form hereafter, I may kindly be excused for the confusion and inconvenience caused in this regard.
 
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