🌲🌲 sincere thoughts 🌲🌲

Long post on Ram and the bhakti movement.

Since Ram has been a big topic in Indian circles over the last month, it seems only fitting to talk about the two contrasting views 15th-century bhakti movement poet Kabir has about him:

एक राम दशरथ का बेटा , एक राम घट घट में बैठा !

एक राम का सकल पसारा , एक राम है सबसे न्यारा !

My translation/ interpretation:

The first Ram -- entry-level Ram is the son of King Dashrath -- the mythological figure in which we get lost in discussing, never transcending, but rising above it; we get the second 'Ram' -- the one who is present in every being, who we fail to see, rising above that; we get the third 'Ram' -- the one who makes up the being and the non-being, embodies the chaos of the universe; and the fourth? The fourth is the rarest of them all, this is the Ram we must seek.

which is followed by the bhajan:

सकल हंस में राम विराजे

(Ram embodies every being)

राम बिना कोई धाम नहीं

(There's no destination but Ram)

सब भरमंड में ज्योत का वासा

(This light resides in the whole universe)

राम को सुमिरो दूजा नहीं

(Meditate on Ram, there is no other)

(The whole bhajan is here http://ajabshahar.com/songs/details/159/Sakal-Hans-Mein-Raam-Viraaje&title=Sakal-Hans-Mein-Raam-Viraaje)

My two favorite renditions of this bhajan are from Prahlad Singh Tipaniya:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVINBFFNWtU

and his student, Shabnam Virmani

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84RDvFIkc68

At the same time, Kabir himself offers a contrast to this vision of Ram, the divine in all of us,

भला हुआ मोरी माला टूटी,

(I am glad my prayer bead necklace broke)

मैं तो राम भजन से छूटी

(I got relieved from praying to Ram)

मोरे सिर से टली बला… ।।

(Avoided a big disaster)

माला जपु न कर जपूं

(I will not pray with the prayer beads nor with my palms)

और मुख से कहूँ न राम

(nor will I utter Ram's name in prayer)

राम हमारा हमें जपे रे कबीरा

(Kabir says, Ram should pray to me)

हम पायों विश्राम

(and I will get some rest)

This is one of my favorites. I have derived many meanings from this, which apply to many situations.

Kabir cafe has a great version of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_Z7VG0c41M

Finally, if you understood Ram, you wouldn't do any of this stuff you are doing in his name.

शिंगरू मेलं हेलपाट्यानं, असं नाही चालायचं…

"Forgiveness is giving up all hope for a better past"

无为

Today I learned there are more than 40 English names for the mountain lion, a Guinness world record. Yet I couldn't quickly find a list of all of them, so I dug them up:

Names for Mountain Lions:

1. American Lion

2. American Panther

3. Bender

4. Black Puma

5. Brazilian Cat

6. Brown Tiger

7. Catamount

8. Cat-o-mountain

9. Cougar

10. Cougare

11. California Lion

12. Deer Cat

13. Deer-killer

14. Deer Tiger

15. Florida Panther

16. Great Panther

17. Ghost Cat

18. Indian Devil

19. King Cat

20. Lion

21. Lyon

22. Mexican Lion

23. Mountain Cat

24. Mountain Demon

25. Mountain Devil

26. Mountain Tiger

27. Mountain Screamer

28. Painted Cat

29. Painter

30. Pampas Cat

31. Panther

32. Panthere

33. Poltroon Tiger

34. Puma

35. Purple Panther

36. Purple Feather

37. Red Lion

38. Red Panther

39. Red Tiger

40. Rocky Mountain Lion

41. Silver Lion

42. Sneak Cat

43. Swamp Screamer

44. Tiger

45. Tyger

46. Tyger of America

47. Varmint

48. Wild Cat

Sources:

1. https://www.theanimalfiles.com/mammals/carnivores/mountain_lion.html

2. THE COUGAR OR MOUNTAIN LION BY CLAUDE T. BARNES, F. Z. S. https://hdl.handle.net/2027/coo.31924002895989?urlappend=%3Bseq=17%3Bownerid=27021597768386814-21

Why has Google search gotten so bad?

In this article are will explore why Google search has gotten so bad. When people need to look something up, they use a search engine to look it up. Google was founded in the year 1998. Yet in recent times you may have noticed how top results are low quality articles with a lot of repetition.

Why Google search has gotten so bad:

Google search uses its page rank algorithm to rank pages in your searches. That’s why Google has the ability to deliver thousands of results in less than a second.

Google Search Basics:

Search engines like Google rank pages on keywords and relevant domain research, this has given rise to search engine optimization techniques which can boost a page that meets certain characteristics

Is search engine optimization why Google search has gotten so bad?

Search engine optimization makes many pages game this ranking system, trying to go up in the rankings, frequently repeating a phrase or having related phrases is a part of it

Has Google search gotten worse in recent years?

You may have observed that Google searches in the recent years have pushed up lower quality pages to the top. This is due to search engine optimization by these website, trying to get clicks for advertisements.

Unable to get useful results on Google search?

Search engine optimization means that you may be unable to get useful results on Google search. This is caused by the page rank algorithm, which looks for certain features, and can be made to prefer certain pages over others

Technical Writing Resources (for Shubham!) (some links may be US specific):

• Of course The Chicago Manual of Style https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chicago_Manual_of_Style

• Style Guide by the Economist https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/the-economist/style-guide/9781610399869/

• Nature: English communication for Scientists https://www.nature.com/scitable/ebooks/english-communication-for-scientists-14053993/contents/

• Write the paper first https://www.cs.jhu.edu/~jason/advice/write-the-paper-first.html

• Style: Toward Clarity and Grace https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/246853.Style

• Even a Geek Can Speak: Low-Tech Presentation Skills for High-Tech People https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/7960467-even-a-geek-can-speak

• Influence: Science and Practice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influence:_Science_and_Practice

• Writing for Computer Science https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117973.Writing_for_Computer_Science

• Air & Light & Time & Space: How Successful Academics Write https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/32336647-air-light-time-space

• Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8600.Eats_Shoots_Leaves

Why do all these goddamn chickens keep coming home to roost. Shoo filthy birds.

Have a nice tan and it is only Feb

Submitted!

Right proper windy

Amazed at the ability of human mind to invent issues to worry about when none exist

Gotta celebrate the small joys in life, light getting electricity back in your room after weeks

Thermoses still freak me out. How is it still scalding!! It has been 5 hours!!!

Will never get tired of the setting sun rays hitting the tops of redwoods

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/what-the-heck-is-crab-rangoon-anyway

If there is one advice I can give for anyone doing a PhD is that minimize your dependency on things out of your control, like experimental hardware

Thinking about how “I got you babe” could mean either ‘I’ve got your back’ or ‘You’ve got my back’

Coffee shops will be like, “we cater to a wide and diverse audience” and then stay open 6am-12pm.

💭 [any kind of housing which houses a lot of often vulnerable non-land-owning people (student housing, homeless shelters, trailer parks, halfway houses, farmworker housing, elder care facilities) is not eligible for the four rapid tests]

Have been in a weird headspace lately, unsubscribed from a bunch of podcasts, twitter folks etc. have been exclusively listening to audio books.

The vibes are absolutely okay today

I now have thoughts.page set up on thoughts.sincerely.dev!

I want all the joy of posting without any of the despair of replies, engagement, retweets, or likes

Hello World!