Martial arts have always had elements of mysticism associated with them, and this has reflected in most depictions in popular culture. For a person whose understanding of the subject is solely based on these colourful reflections, martial arts is magical, mystical, and supernatural. For the mundane fighter who has picked up his technique on the […]
Author: raman
Emotions decoded – The Roots of Hatred and Love
In the previous post, we saw how anger or hatred can transform people in ways they least expect and desire. We concluded by wondering whether it was even fair for good people to be thus punished for their hatred of evil (by turning them into evil), and for evil ones like Hiranyakashipu to be rewarded […]
Samrambha Yogam – Transforming Power of Anger
Bhakti, which may roughly be translated as loving absorption, is one of the most well known and effective means of focusing one’s attention on their object of love and reverence. This intense and unwavering focus helps to transform the Bhakta into, and makes him one with, the object of his Bhakti. If there is one […]
Subconscious Influence that Led Appukkuttan to be a Dentist
If you have watched the movies in “In Harihar Nagar” series, you might have wondered how the irresponsible, even dumb, Appukkuttan went on to be a dental surgeon. What could possibly have motivated this young man with absolutely no goals or ambition to take up the exacting medical profession? I think there is a subtle subconscious […]
Clash of Clans and Life – A Rumination
In the last few months that I have not made a single post here, I have been busy playing the Clash of Clans! I have invested an exorbitant amount of time in this game, and perhaps its way of paying back is by holding a mirror to the world; a mirror that magnifies and highlights […]
Spiritual Insights from an Unexpected Effect of Growing a Beard
There are many studies, and many more opinions, on how a beard can affect a man. Some say that it can provide health benefits by preventing bacterial infection, keeping skin moist and wrinkle-free, and even reducing chances of skin cancer. Others may be of the opinion that it increases risk of infestation by lice and […]
Campus Politics in Kerala and the Recent High Court Ruling
Having first hand experience of the hooliganism that goes by the name of campus politics in Kerala, I welcome the recent High Court ruling that calls for an end to campus politics. I am strongly of the opinion that courts should only interpret laws and not create new ones, and so ideally want the government […]
The Rise of Clickbait Journalism and how we can Combat it
I don’t read newspapers anymore, and so mostly depend on news aggregators or social media sites to find news items and articles of interest. I am sure there are many others like me, and a result of this trend is the rise of clickbait journalism. This is a menace every internet user would have come […]
Will you be a Superhero or a Supervillain?
There is a question that I sometimes ask myself. If I were to have amazing super powers, will I end up as a superhero or a supervillain?I have thought about it in some detail, and the only answer I can give is that I don’t know. At first, one might think that the answer is […]
Assessing the Success of Demonetization in Unearthing Black Money
Demonetization has many stated objectives, and one of them is unearthing black money stashed away in cash. I am not claiming that demonetization achieved this objective, or that its net impact on the economy is positive – I don’t have enough information to conclude one way or the other. But I do think that the claim […]