Chronicles of Nikhil Baliga

Swami Gulagulaananda asked: " Is it possible for your father to look like you? " I happened to read an article on today's newspaper that spoke about some film maker who said that he believed that Lord Krishna truly existed and walked the earth, and he was going to make a film based on it. He said that Lord Krishna was born in 3112 BC. BC clearly indicates before christ... The name of his movie is going to be " The Indian Jesus "... Sheesh! How can you make that kind of an error? It is exactly like telling someone that his father looks like him. You can tell him that he looks like his father. Similarly, you can perhaps call Jesus as the Western Krishna, but not the other way around, since Krishna comes earlier than Jesus chronologically... Of course, I feel he chose that name to make it more appealing to the Western community - But this kind of behaviour is something that I strongly denounce. I liked his idea of making a film about Krishna, but the name is someth...

Swami Nikhilananda said: " Think in the language in which you speak; a literal translation seldom gives the right meaning " This is a small incident that happened a year back. I had attended a wedding reception, and I happened to be talking to my friend's father. The conversation was quite interesting, and he was doing most of the talking. We were both standing and talking, and I had my dinner plate in my hand. He had already finished his dinner... So, as we spoke, I found him saying " what? " at the end of each sentence. Like, for example, " The situation is getting really bad these days... What?" And when he asked me this, I thought he was just testing if I was paying attention or not... So, I repeated whatever he said, " The situation is getting really bad these days " But as we spoke more and more, he went on adding "what" at the end of every other sentence. I didn't understand why he kept feeling I was not paying attention...

Baba Gyani Triviani said : " It has been so many years since we got our freedom from the British. But, are we truly independent? " There is a difference between freedom and independence. And those of you who don't know the difference should quickly check out the dictionary. Freedom is something great - something, which you won't be able to appreciate till you don't have it. Often, freedom is a word that is mistaken for a lot of things. People have used blogs for freedom of speech and expression. You need to understand that freedom of speech and expression doesn't mean that you can go around maligning people, or spreading slander. One must understand this difference. Freedom doesn't mean you wear revealing clothes or behave obscenely. There is a fine line of difference. This doesn't mean that I am orthodox in thoughts or behaviour - most definitely not. I strongly support freedom, in the truest sense of it. Try going to a country like China or Korea. An...

Swami Nikhilaananda said : " You cannot have a great car and a potholed road, nor can you have an excellent road with a lousy battered old moped. The idea is to have both - and yes, it is possible " Today is a special day for two reasons - The Indian Independence day, and also the PESIT Alumni meet. PESIT is a brilliant college, but unfortunately, it has a reputation of that of a school - It's not at all as bad as it has been made out to be. I actually got so annoyed at one point of time, with all the comments from my friends from other colleges, that I decided to go around asking people from my college if they really did find it so hard to live in. Believe it or not, not a single person said that they hated the college, or had any major issues. Everyone had some small complaints, like security guards bothering us... But hey, no system is perfect. I know everyone has atleast one issue with everything. So, we all love our college, and we have had so much fun. I was actuall...

Swami Gulagulaananda preached: " A bundle of sticks will never break, a single twig shalt quickly snap; Beware of all these foreign helpers, for this is indeed a vicious trap " I don't know if a lot of people are aware of this bit of news that I just happened to read in today's Times of India. A Chinese web-site claims that if Beijing exerts a little pressure, then India is already ready for dismemberment. They claim that by forming an alliance with all of India's neighbours, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, China is going to splinter India into 20-30 smaller independent pieces. It also claims that India was never a country at any point in her history, and was merely held together by Hindus (who have been termed as decadent) Well, whether this is factually true or not, is secondary. Let us have a quick look at the status. There are certain facts that we need to understand. India is a vastly diverse country, having all kinds of people, belonging to all kinds...